Love in the time of Kimora
by Yana D Aristocrat
Summary: True love lasts forever, doesn't it? Kagome and Sesshomaru thought so until they became like every other marriage statistic and hit rock bottom. Sequel to Silver Dove and the Raven. Can they make it work?
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Men ogled the young woman getting out of a black limo. Her long midnight tresses flapped in the wind as she placed her shades on. She avoided their gazes as she walked toward the school in front of her. A tall sentry walked beside her, his red eyes scanning the crowds. The guards opened the gate and she stopped at the entrance to look at the school. She'd never noticed how big it was. The white brick edifice looked more like a mansion than a place of academia. She sighed. It seemed it was weekly now that she had to come down to the school.

"Lady Kagome?" said the guard. "The headmaster is waiting for you."

"Right." She said as she broke away from her thoughts and looked at her sentry. "Haji, I will go alone from here. Wait for me outside." He abided as she followed the man as the gates closed behind her. She removed her shades once they got inside and smiled at a few people who bowed their heads at her.

"Lady Kagome…" greeted a man as he opened the office door expectantly. He rubbed the back of his neck and led her inside dismissing the guard immediately. He brushed the fuzz on his head with his hand and pointed to a seat in front of his desk. "It is always a pleasure."

"Have you contacted their father, Headmaster Cho?" she flicked her gaze toward him with a scowl as she sat down.

"Well…" he lowered his head and nodded. "I did but he said he couldn't make it."

"Of course." Kagome muttered under her breath.

"Lord Sesshomaru is a diligent man."

"I am as well, Headmaster Cho. I had to cancel a meeting with a judge because of this so let's just get to the point. What has Kimora done now?"

"You know, having two hard working parents may have a great effect on a child's behavior. It may be a cry for attention."

Kagome smiled. "Headmaster Cho. Though I work hard, I am always home by the time the girls get there. So there is no need for attention."

"It is just speculation, Lady Kagome. I have the utmost respect for the both of you but I also consider the well being of my children here at Inutaisho Academy."

"Did Kimora get into another fight?"

"Actually, Lady Kagome, Samara got into a fight."

"What?" Kagome couldn't help chuckle. "Samara?"

"Yes." He said, unsure why she would find this situation funny.

"That's insane. Samara doesn't get into fights. Who did she get into a fight with?"

"Kimora." He said after a long pause.

"What?" Kagome's smile faded into disbelief. She blinked a few times taking it in and leaned back into her chair. "They fought with each other? This makes no sense. The girls are so close. What exactly inspired the fight?"

"Not sure yet. The both of them remain quiet but when I entered the classroom, I overheard Samara yelling 'Halfbreed, it's your fault.' Do you know what that is about?"

"Samara said that?" Kagome looked hurt. She stood up from her chair and walked toward the window. "I have no clue what it is about. I don't believe this."

"I don't either but I saw it with my own eyes. May I interject an opinion of mine?"

"Please…"

"The girls are almost ten years old. Perhaps they are beginning to notice the differences between them."

"No." Kagome said. "We've explained it to them already. It never really mattered to them. They are twins and they've been inseparable since birth."

"Hm, well…Kimora's grades are beginning to drop as well. She failed her science test."

"But, Kimora loves science." Kagome interrupted.

"Well, she only failed because she didn't complete the exam. The teacher caught her drawing."

"Drawing? Drawing what?"

"She's been drawing things in art class that I wanted to show you." He said as he brought a folder into view. He opened it and sprawled the drawings on the desk. Kagome picked one up and studied it. The first one was a picture of Kimora with a big husky man, bald with tribal tattoos on his temples.

"That's Cado, Kimora's sentry." She explained as she picked another drawing. This one was a picture of two houses. In one, was Sesshomaru, alone and the other one had Samara, Kimora and herself in it."

"What do you think that one implies?"

Kagome bit her lip and shook her head. She knew what it implied but she couldn't tell him. She shrugged and placed the drawing on the desk. "I'm guessing it has to do with him being at work a lot."

"It does appear that way but what can you do?" he retorted. "I mean, he's the President of the D.D.C so I can understand."

"Hmph." Kagome said. _Well, glad you understand it._ "So what are we going to do then?"

"Well, I really hate to suggest this, Lady Kagome but if the girls continue to act this way, I'm afraid the need for expulsion is at hand."

"What? Youcan't be serious."

"The students here admire the twins. They look up to them. I can't have them influencing their bad behavior on others."

"You speak of them like a disease." Kagome spat. "They're kids. These things happen."

"Not at Inutaisho Academy."

"Which, need I remind you, is their grandfather's school!"

"Which only makes it harder for me to say." He said apologetically. "Lady Kagome, please, I am not trying to attack you here. I watched the twins grow as well and it is hard for me to even say this. I've overlooked a lot of the things Kimora has done the past few months. I've defended her when she vandalized the gym. I've stood up for her against the board when she called in a bomb threat and when she glued the entire classroom to their chairs, or when she blew up the science lab? How about when she added hormones to Mrs. Levy's smoothie pitcher? She grew facial hair in a week and now I have Samara, which is our prized overachiever causing mayhem as well."

Kagome sunk in her chair with embarrassment. She nodded and looked at him. "I'm sorry. You're right. Let me talk to them, I promise you this won't continue. It is…probably a phase or something."

"Well, Christmas break starts tomorrow. They will have two weeks off to relax. Go on a vacation with the family, spend some time together. Hopefully, this will all go over quickly."

Family vacation? She couldn't even get the family together on a weekend. If it wasn't Sesshomaru working late nights, she was stuck with mountains of paperwork. It was that instant that she wondered what moment in her life did she become a workaholic."Where are the girls?"

"They are with the counselor now. I'll have them come down." He said as he grabbed the phone and paged upstairs.

When Kagome left the office, she met with Haji in the front. He broke away from his stoic expression and glanced at her with concern. "Is everything alright, my lady?"

"Ugh," Kagome sighed as she sat on the steps. Some people looked at her strangely. It could be the fact that she wore a black Prada skirt with a matching blazer and she was sitting on the steps getting it dirty as if it were something cheap. "No, things are not alright. What am I doing wrong, Haji? I'm losing control over them. I don't know what to do."

Haji rested his hand on her shoulder. "You are doing everything right, my lady. They are kids."

"Who are about to get expelled if I don't do something."

Haji didn't say anything. They both looked up when a herculean man walked down the steps with a little girl hiding behind him. She wrapped a strand of her white hair across her face, a nervous habit of hers when she knew she did something wrong. A woman appeared behind them, tall and slender, orange eyes and hair. She bore the same expressionless mask as always, perhaps a demon trait. She walked beside another little girl with black hair and amber eyes. She wasn't hiding. In fact, she walked down proudly meeting her mother's eyes as if testing her. When Kagome scowled emanating all the anger she had conjured up, the girl looked away.

"I am so disappointed in the both of you."

"I'm sorry, Mom." Said Kimora as she poke her head out from behind her sentry. She pouted and hid behind him again.

"Don't hide behind Cado, Kimora. He is not going to save you from me." She scolded and looked at her other daughter. "Samara, really? I can't believe you would do this."

"Perhaps if you understood my intentions, _mother_, then you would see I had every right to do what I did."

"Your intentions?" Kagome scoffed. "Do you want to know _my_ intentions?"

Samara hesitated and began stomping toward the limo. Everyone else followed behind her. When they got into the limo, Kagome checked her cell phone. She had a few text messages from her boss wondering why she had cancelled her meetings with the judge. She struggled so hard to get an appointment to issue a warrant against a defendant and now she was going to hear it. She saw another text message and was surprised to see it was from Sesshomaru.

'I'm sorry.' It said. She scoffed again. Sorry? Well that was just not going to cut it. She looked up at her daughters who stared at her waiting for their punishments.

"Are you going to tell dad?" Kimora asked.

"Absolutely."

"Mom!" Kimora cried.

"Mother!" Samara pleaded.

She hated that the very mention of his name had them cowering in fear. He was hardly home and he had more control over them than she ever had. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and threw her phone back into her purse. She looked at them and raised a finger. "No television, No music. Samara, you are no longer to have that sleepover during Christmas break."

"Mother! I've been planning that sleepover for weeks. I already sent out the invitations and the girls at the school are all bragging about it. I can't disappoint them."

"but you can disappoint me?" Kagome glared at her until she looked at her lap. "Anyway, you are staying with your father for Christmas break so you'll both have to pack when we get home."

Kimora tilted her head and looked despondently at her mother. "Why can't we all be together for Christmas break?"

Kagome pressed her lips tightly and looked out the window. It pained her not to answer but what could she tell her daughters. She wasn't sure what she was doing anymore either. Sesshomaru had been consumed by his job that there were nights he didn't even come home. She assumed it to be another woman but he kept insisting that it wasn't and that he'd explain one day. She'd grown accustomed to sleeping in an empty bed that her decision wasn't one that she'd suffer much from. It was the girls that worried her. How was she going to tell them that their mother and father are getting a divorce?

***** ***** ***** *******

"Hi, I'm here for the secretary position?" said a young woman as she approached the front desk. She scouted the office and looked at the lady tapping away at the computer.

"Lana, your replacement is here!" she called out and the woman cocked a brow. That sounded pretty awkward. She hoped the girl was leaving willingly and not training someone after being let go. A blonde girl popped out of an office and greeted her with a smile.

"Hi, you're Sara, right?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. I am. I hope I'm not too early. I didn't want to risk being late on the first day."

Lana laughed. "That's fine. Actually, Lord Sesshomaru loves it if you're early. He is always working, so the earlier you are here, the better for him."

"Lord Sesshomaru?"

"He's the president of D.D.C, you'll meet him later. He's in a meeting with the secretary of defense. After I show you around, I'll tell you a few facts about him that you'll find very helpful later on."

"Okay." Sara smiled nervously. She wondered who this powerful man was. He was a lord and a president of the largest defense group in the world. She followed Lana around the building and noted the important facts.

"He doesn't like sweets so don't try to bring him any. He loves coffee and the stronger it is, the better. He takes it straight so don't put any sugar in it. He can be a little ruthless and on bad days, just stay out of his way. He needs to have his meetings laid out an hour apart from each other and place it on his desk first thing in the morning. He'll want a quick recap on any updates, try to keep it under a minute, he gets very impatient."

Sara nodded each time, writing it down. She wondered what she'd gotten in to Who was she working for, the devil? The more she described his vices, it sounded like she was going to work with a grumpy old man who will make her life hell.

"Oh, and another thing…no one knows this but because I have to go through his mail and sort it out, I found out accidently. He is going through a divorce so be sure to really stay out of his way the next few days."

"How unfortunate." She said. Perhaps the grumpy old man needs a lesson in life. Be nice to others and nice things will happen to you.

"Oh, one last thing…"Lana laughed. "Don't fall for him."

Sara cocked a brow. Why would Lana make a poor joke like that? Was she being sarcastic? Their attention went towards the door across the room. A man walked out yelling in a foreign language with another man. Her mouth dropped slightly when they were followed by a tall, slender man with long white hair. He was angelic, his face completely perfect. His eyes were like the sun and he posed like a model with one hand in his pocket. He spoke quietly with the fuming man and then walked away.

"Who is that?" Sara asked and Lana looked up.

"That?" she pointed. "That's your boss. That's Lord Sesshomaru."

Sara felt her breath get caught in her throat. "Him? He's….young."

"and gorgeous." She smiled. "That's what you wanted to say, right?"

"N-no, I mean…it's just…I expected to see an old man. I mean, president of the company?"

"Don't underestimate him. He was handed the position by his father and he is really good at his job."

Sara couldn't stop staring. Lana's words had sounded muffled as she followed him around with her eyes. A man walked over to him with a paper and he quickly scanned it and signed it.

"What exactly goes on here at the D.D.C?" Sara asked.

"We are the largest defense group in the world. We kind of do it all here. We help other organizations such as the N.S.A or C.I.A when they come across something of an obstacle. Demons can be very formidable enemies against the humans. We come in to take them down when the laws have been broken. We are also defense contractors and work on the latest weapons the militaries and special ops are using. We send out rescue teams to bring in demon refugees from all sorts of countries, the list goes on."

She stopped talking when they saw him walking towards them and she straightened her posture and fixed her hair. Sara hid behind her and placed her long black hair behind her ear.

"Lana, are there any messages for me?" he spoke. His voice was soft yet strong. He didn't even glance toward Sara and she felt like an inanimate object. The bookshelf to her right was more acknowledged.

"Two messages." She said in a strong voice. She sounded confident. "One from your lawyer saying he wants to meet you before you go through the papers."

His face tensed and he quickly glanced at Sara. She bit her lip and bowed her head. He studied her briefly and looked at Lana. "Who is this?"

"Your new secretary." Lana introduced. "This is Sara. She is training today."

Sesshomaru checked his blackberry for messages and nodded. "What was the other message?"

"The other one is from your wife."

He looked up and glared at her. "What did she say?"

Lana looked down at the paper and tilted her head. "She said to pick up the girls and don't be late because she has somewhere to be at seven."

"Where is she going?"

"She didn't say."

"Right." He looked at his watch. "Cancel my meetings for tonight then. I will be away for the next fortnight. Screen my calls."

"My lord, you have a meeting this afternoon with the Prime minister of Romania and Arch Bishop Giovanni has something important to discuss with you. He asks that you make time for him, he is coming straight here from the Vatican tomorrow morning."

"I cannot speak with the Prime minister, he'll have to understand. We can reschedule---send my apologies."

"You can't cancel, he is leaving tonight." She started to follow behind him after he walked away. Sara trotted behind, confused by what was going on. As Lana bickered on, Sara observed Sesshomaru's strides. He walked gracefully, his skin looked smooth and his suit fitted him snuggly that she could tell he was in good shape. Demons weren't a new thing for her but she'd never seen a demon so beautiful in her life. Aside from his cold rude personality, why was he getting a divorce? If she were his wife, she'd never let him go. 'Don't fall for him.' Lana had said. No wonder. She snapped out of it. This was completely professional.

He got inside the elevator and she looked between him and Lana wondering what had been resolved. She hadn't heard the final decision and scolded herself for daydreaming about her boss's looks. When the doors closed, Lana scoffed.

"Ok, you see? This is the part of my job that I hate. Now I have to call two important men to cancel their meetings and be yelled at in all sorts of languages."

Sara chuckled and tried to change the subject. "So, he has kids?"

"Twin girls." She said as she led her to his office. They walked toward his desk and she handed her a picture frame.

"Oh, they're beautiful. Oh, their hair and eyes are different."

"Well, their mother is human so I'm guessing that has something to do with it."

"Their mother is human? I didn't think Demons married humans, especially those of important calibers."

Lana grabbed another picture frame from his desk. It was his wedding photo. Sara grabbed it and was stunned to see how beautiful his wife was.

"Wow…"

"Yeah, trust me. It's no wonder he didn't even look at another woman in this office, no matter if they prayed for it. Heaven knows they all tried. One girl tried to show extreme cleavage and he asked that she dressed more appropriately. He is truly devoted to her."

"Why the divorce? They have such a beautiful family." Sara handed her the picture frame.

"I don't know but I heard him arguing on the phone with her. He is kind of devoted to his job too. He has no choice though; his job demands most of his attention. I'm guessing a girl can get tired of that. It's also a dangerous job, he has so many enemies and he refuses to have any protection. Two months ago, he was on his way back from Austria where he signed a peace treaty. He was followed by a group of radicals and was shot at. The bullets hit and killed his driver and the vice president of D.D.C. His car was pushed off a bridge by the terrorists' van. He almost didn't make it out alive."

"Doesn't he have guards? I mean, surely a man like him has some sort of secret service."

"His entire sentry guards his wife and kids. He claims he doesn't need protection from anyone."

"That is pretty arrogant of him." Sara stated.

"Oh, he is.…"

"I guess I'm not surprised that his wife is divorcing him."

Lana smiled. " No, he isn't always like that. There are times when you see the niceness in him…you just have to look deeply." Her eyes went sad and she bowed her head.

"May I ask, why are you leaving?"

Lana paused and looked down at the picture. She looked at Sara and shrugged with a smirk. "I made the mistake of falling for him." Sara's eyes widened but she said nothing and Lana continued. "It hurts to work beside him knowing it will never happen."

"Well," Sara cleared her throat. "He is getting a divorce."

Lana laughed. "No…that might be what is happening but he won't give up. He truly loves his wife regardless if she is filing for divorce. He still wears his ring and he looks forward to her calls even if he knows she is just going to argue. Let me show you something…" she said as she pulled out his chair and turned on his laptop. She typed in her password and logged into the internet. After typing something in a search engine, she clicked on it. A page showed up and it looked like a picture gallery. Sara leaned in to take a closer look.

"Oh my god, is that him?"she said at a photo of him in a Jacuzzi. A girl stood by him, practically naked in a small bathing suit.

"Yeah, that's him and that's his wife."

"Oh my god….they look so…."

"Hot, I know. It's almost unfair how two people in the same relationship could be so good looking."Lana scoffed. "They used to model together in Italy years ago."

"He was a model?"

"Yep. All the girls in the office have a picture of him either hidden in their desk or as their screensaver. I met his wife once at a party. She is super sweet which made me feel even worse for liking him. When they are together, he is so different. You never see him smile when he is here at work. I worked for him for seven years and I didn't see him smile not once here…but at the party, his wife whispered something into his ear and he smiled and he actually laughed. It was a nice laugh too, he should laugh more often." She sighed.

"You really have it bad for him, huh?"

Lana pursed her lips and looked at the picture. "I guess, I fell for him that day when he smiled. The great things he achieves at work, the dangers that he puts himself in for the safety of his people and his family. He is like his father."

"His father?"

"Yes, Lord Inutaisho. He retired years ago but his father changed the world for the good. He brought equality between races and ended segregation within schools, opened up schools and orphanages for hanyous."

What an ambitious family." Sara stated. "His wife said that he has to pick up the kids, does that mean he is not staying with them?"

"He moved to the manor across the river from the D.D.C, he needed to be closer to work for a little while. I guess he is paranoid about having work follow him home, if you know what I mean."

"How sad." Sara shook her head.

"Yeah, anyways. Let's stop gossiping. I will show you around more about the things you need to do here and what more to avoid with Lord Sesshomaru." She laughed.

Sara took a deep breath. There was a foreboding feeling inside her chest that this was going to get bad. Perhaps it was just anxiety of starting a new job.

*************

Kagome was pissed when Sesshomaru told her to meet him somewhere with the kids. He said he couldn't come to the house and it would be easier if they met him halfway. The nerve of him, he couldn't even do a simple task of picking up his daughters at their house. She looked at her daughters somberly and sighed. Kimora hummed to herself as she drew in her notebook. Samara read a book and occasionally looked out the window nervously. She was very aware that her mother would fill in her father about what happened at school today. The look on his face was something she wasn't looking forward to see.

They arrived at the park where he wanted to meet them. He was standing by his car and walked toward them when Kagome got out of the car after Haji. Kagome turned around when she heard the doors behind her lock.

"Kimora, Samara! Get out of the car right now."

The window cracked opened slightly. "Promise you won't tell Daddy what happened?" said Kimora's little voice.

Kagome growled and knocked on the window. "Samara!"

Samara's eyes poke through. "I'm sorry, mother but I'm going to have to agree with her." Her eyes darted toward her father coming closer and she immediately closed the window.

"Girls!" Kagome shouted and Sesshomaru stopped beside her.

"What is the problem?" he said, his eyes not leaving her.

Kagome glowered at him and rolled her eyes. "The problem? There are many! I am running late so if you can get the girls to come out of the car, that would be great."

"Where are you going?" he said.

Kagome scoffed and adjusted her blazer. "I don't think that's your concern right now. I have a lot of things I need to do that because of someone," she leered at him. "I had to cancel or postpone."

"I told you. I apologized that I couldn't make it."

"Whatever. I don't really want to hear it anyway. Could you please get them out of the car."

Sesshomaru studied her longer and looked away. He leaned down and tapped the window, glaring. The door suddenly opened and Samara came out first. Kimora followed behind her covering herself with her hair.

"Hello, Father…" Samara tried to sound brave but failed miserably. Her amber eyes looked down at the ground shamefully. Cado and Remy got out of the car and stood beside the girls.

"They've been fighting at school." Kagome said and the girls glared at her like she was a traitor. "with each other. They're near expulsion if it continues."

Sesshomaru scoffed. "It is my father's school."

"That's what I said." Kagome scoffed. "but Headmaster Yao was serious when he said if it continued, he'd have no choice."

"Unbelievable." Sesshomaru said under his breath. Kagome cleared her throat when she felt like they both shared a moment agreeing how unfair the headmaster was being.

"Kimora failed her science test as well."

Sesshomaru looked at the girls with a face so scary they tried to hide behind their sentries. He placed his hands in his pockets and cocked his head. "Remy, Cado…take them to my car."

The both of them nodded as they led the girls away. Kimora quickly ran back and hugged her mother and went back to them. Samara stared at Kagome with a look of hatred and walked away. Haji stepped away as well sensing the two were about to engage in a private conversation.

"Anyway, so you said you will take them for the next two weeks, right?" Kagome said. "Of course, I will come on Christmas so we can all be together."

"About that…"he said and Kagome shook her head to get back into the car.

"What now?" she was about to close the door but he held it open.

"I can only take a few days off."

"Of course."

"Kagome…"

"Whatever,"

"My father is coming by so it isn't like they will be alone."

"How nice that your father is going to be there but their father won't be."

"You are being unreasonable."

"I can't get into this now. I have a meeting with the judge. If I miss this, I'm definitely going to be demoted or probably fired. Did you sign the papers?"

Sesshomaru felt his teeth grind immensely. "If you'll only be patient and allow me to explain later…"

"I've been waiting for a year." She scoffed and she heard her voice waver. "We don't see you. I sleep alone at night, it's like we are already divorced. I take care of the girls on my own anyway. You're not there when they get in trouble or when they have recitals or projects. Kimora has nightmares almost every night which you have no idea how hard it is to deal with. You are never there. What's the difference if you sign the papers?"

"I am not signing the papers." He said in a final tone.

"Suit yourself. It will happen anyway whether you like it or not."

"Don't do this…"

"I didn't. You did."

She gave him an impatient look and he released the door. She closed it and Haji bowed his head at him before he got into the car. Kagome looked behind her as they drove away. Sesshomaru stood there watching them drive away. She felt her tears escape her eyes as she sobbed quietly. Haji grabbed a handkerchief and handed it to her. She nodded and grabbed it wiping her tears immediately. Not now, she couldn't do this. She had to suck it up. She was about to meet with the judge and she didn't want to look blotchy with blood shot eyes.

"Are you getting the headaches?" Haji asked as he grabbed a bag from a compartment underneath the chair.

"No." Kagome said and waved for him to put the bag away. "I'm fine, really. I haven't even gotten them in a while."

"You have the doctor's appointment tomorrow. "He reminded.

"Haji."Kagome laughed. "You are worse than my mother, you know that?"

Haji frowned. "I was just reminding you."

"Thank you." She sighed as she wiped her eyes dry. She felt a little better and opened the window for fresh air.

***************

Author's note:::

It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, I had this story in my computer for months. I had not intended to write a sequel but it just happened during my writer's block. I am posting it because I don't want it collecting dust in my hard drive, metaphorically speaking that is. For some of you that talk to me occasionally, you do know that I am working on something of my own that I intend to publish. Writing my own thing turned out to be harder than I thought. I'm having a hard time getting to know my own characters but it's going ok for now. I just need to get my butt on overdrive so I can get it out as soon as possible but at the same time I want it to be good.

Anyway, about this story…

It won't be as long as my others, it's not necessarily a short story but it is not a novel, perhaps a novella, if you will. My updates won't be as quick so read at your own risk. I can only promise that it will come out when it does. I post updates on my own work on MySpace or Facebook so if you want to be filled in, check it out. The link should be in my profile.

I believe fan fiction is a good exercise for me. It allows me to polish my vocabulary usage, cultivate it, generate other ideas and have fun at the same time. It would be my advice to younger writers. Use this site to your advantage. If you have a good idea, don't give up. It came to you for a reason and it would be a shame if it is never known. It was because of you guys who read my stories that inspired me to write more and better myself at it. So, thank you for taking the time out of your precious lives to read my stories.


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome smiled as she got out of the restaurant. Her meeting with Judge Hawthins couldn't be more successful. Not only did she get the warrant issued, the judge bragged about all the cases Kagome had won and asked if she'd consider a judicial position. Haji gave her room to gloat in her victory as she walked ahead of him practically floating. She passed a few stores and decided to go shopping. It had been a while since she'd done anything for herself. It was always for the girls. Haji looked uncomfortable as he followed her through the women's department of shoes. Kagome preened at each one trying to figure out which one she should buy.

"I'm sorry, Haji." She said. "I promise I won't torture you much longer."

"It is alright, my lady. Take your time." He said, wishing she didn't take long though.

"Kagome?" she heard and Haji looked alert. He studied the blonde girl walking toward them. She was an average height girl with a spunky looking wardrobe. Her hair had platinum highlights and she had a nose piercing. "Oh my god, Kagome, it is you."

Haji looked back at Kagome wondering if she knew this girl. Kagome took a second and her mouth dropped. "Isabella!"

"Oh my god!" the both of them started screaming and jumping as they hugged each other. Haji relaxed and winced at the squealing.

"It has been a long time, hasn't it?" Isabella said in a light Italian accent.

"Where've you been?" Kagome asked. "It's been like seven years since I've seen you."

Isabella pursed her lips and nodded. "I know, I know. Not enough apologies I can say to make it ok but I went back to Italy and was so busy. I was working so much."

Kagome nodded. She couldn't believe her eyes. Her friend has changed so much. Isabella must have noticed it as well because she was staring at her disbelievingly.

"You have not changed a bit." She said. "You still look like you did when I met you."

Kagome lowered her head and blushed. "I will be twenty eight soon."

"You look like you'll be eighteen!" she laughed. "What are you doing with yourself? Is it plastic surgery or something? Who knows, maybe your husband's demon genes are rubbing off on you."

"Oh come on." Kagome scoffed. "You act like I am in my fifties. Twenty eight is not old at all."

"I know, I know….but you've heard of those..eh, how you say, quarter life crisis? I'm serious! Twenty five year olds feel like they're in their thirties and so on."

Kagome laughed. "I guess…"

"Oh my god. Wait, how is Sesshomaru? How are the girls?"

Kagome felt a pain in her chest at the sound of Sesshomaru's name. "Uh…the girls are big. They are going to be ten in a couple of months. Sesshomaru….he's fine."

Isabella frowned. "It may be years that I've seen you, Kagome but I know you are lying. What are you doing now; want to get something to eat? We can catch up."

"Actually, I just ate but we can go for dessert or coffee or drinks." She grinned.

"Ooh, I have so much to tell you, Kagome." Isabella said.

Me too, Kagome thought.

*************

"I cannot believe you are a lawyer now." Isabella shook her head as she sipped her cosmo.

Kagome shrugged and sipped her martini. "Yeah, I know. I thought I didn't want to do it anymore but it was the direction I was going into anyway."

"Wow, such a powerful woman you turned into."

"Hey, how's Marques and Marla doing? I haven't seen them since my wedding. Are they making some poor model's life miserable?"

Isabella's face went long. "Uh, well…Marques died last year and Marla retired."

"What?" Kagome's eyes widened. "but…no one told me anything."

"Well, his family paid lots of money to keep it from the papers. I found out by Marla not too long ago myself. Apparently, he overdosed on some painkillers."

"Oh my god."

"Yeah, I know." Isabella sighed. "I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you, so late too."

Kagome was quiet for a while, remembering things about Marques. She tried to change the topic feeling the tension in the air. "Have you spoken to Inuyasha?"

Isabella nodded. "We talk once in a while. I mean, it couldn't work, you know, because I had to travel so much but we still remain friends. Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he is. He comes by sometimes to hang with the girls."

"Do you still see your friends?"

"Well, I don't see Sango and Miroku anymore. They moved to California and had like six kids." Kagome chuckled. "Koga…I see him more than Sesshomaru."

Isabella's lips twitched. "I'm sorry to hear about that….but are you sure a divorce is the right call? You guys went through so much before…and you also have daughters to think about."

"I know…"Kagome said. "but, it isn't fair to either of us. It confuses the girls and me that he doesn't even live with us anymore. He's always working and although I know what he does is important, it bothers me that he doesn't even try to involve us or at least make some time for us."

"Can you see yourself with another man?"

Kagome almost looked disgusted. "I don't know. Sesshomaru was the only man I was with. I don't know if I can see myself with anyone else. Anyway, that isn't why I want the divorce."

"Well, Kagome, you know I've always been your… eh… voice of reason but maybe you have to be patient. If he isn't signing the papers then it is eh… obvious he doesn't want a divorce and the reason he is living elsewhere might be because of another situation."

Kagome scowled. "I hate when you do that. You make things sound so simple."

" Well, divorce is final and I wonder if you are prepared for that."

"To be honest, I mentioned divorce to see if he would change but now we just argue."

"I think you both need to sit down and talk."

"That's if I can get him to sit." Kagome rolled her eyes. "He's always moving around. "

"Ok, enough of this. Let's drink some more. Forget about our problems right now." Isabella said and ordered more drinks. The waiter came around with two more martinis.

"To Marques…" Kagome raised her glass.

Isabella grinned with sad eyes and raised her glass. "To Marques."

*********

Sesshomaru drove quietly. He could feel his daughters staring at the back of his head wondering when he will speak. The silence in the car was torture. All everyone could hear was the sound of the car and the wind whistling through the cracks of the window.

"Explain." He said and he gazed at the rearview mirror.

Samara and Kimora exchanged glances. Samara cleared her throat and looked at her father. "It was silly, really. It won't happen again, father."

"What was the fight about?" he asked and Samara shrugged. He looked at Kimora and could tell she would be easy to get things out of. She hid behind her white hair and leaned forward but Samara gave her a cold stare. She leaned back in her seat and remained quiet.

"We'll talk about this when we get home."

"Whose home? It certainly isn't ours." Samara mumbled under her breath.

Sesshomaru heard it but didn't acknowledge. He drove the rest of the way in silence as he contemplated his conversation with Kagome. How could she ask for a divorce and not trying to give him understanding? She made it seem like their ten year marriage was something trivial. He couldn't tell her the truth yet not in her condition either.

When they got to the manor, the girls got out and walked inside. They waited for their father to come up the steps and walk them inside still not feeling comfortable in this house. There were guards everywhere. Cado and Remy stood by them and there will three other men guarding the door. Ten guarded the gate and there were more inside.

"Why are there so many guards, Remy?" Samara asked.

"It's just standard procedure, Lady Samara." She said. "Let's go to your room to unpack."

Sesshomaru walked up the steps and followed the girls. He grabbed their bags and brought them inside. "Daddy?" Kimora asked. "You're not working today, are you?"

"No, I am not." He said and rested a palm on her shoulder.

"Can you help me with my homework then?"

"What's the matter, half-breed, can't do it yourself?" Samara muttered under her breath and Sesshomaru glanced at her.

"Go unpack first. Then we will go over your assignments." He said and Kimora smiled and ran off to unpack. Samara headed up the steps but stopped when she heard her father.

"Samara, come with me." He said and walked away.

Samara looked at Remy and Cado and they pointed to her father practically saying 'You're on your own, kid.' As she followed him down the hallway, she'd forgotten how tall he was. It was hard for her to keep up with his long strides. They went inside the living room and he walked over to the fireplace to start a fire.

"Sit down." He said and she did. Her heart raced and her breaths were shallow as she looked toward the door. What was he going to tell her? She heard the fire crackling as he threw a log into it. "What is going on between you and Kimora?"

"Nothing…"

"I do not appreciate lies."

She gulped. "She annoys me sometimes, that's all."

"Is that the reason?"he asked.

"partly." She answered and looked down at her lap. "Father, can I live with you?"

He was surprised by her question and stood up. "What is wrong with where you are now?"

"I can't live there. Mother just doesn't understand. I need to be with you. We are demons…"

"Samara…"he started.

"Mother is always taking Kimora's side. She favors her and I think it's because Kimora's closer to being human like she is. Mother loathes me…"

"She does not."

"You don't know that, you aren't there!"

"I do know. You can't stay here. This is a place of business. It is not suited for a child."

"I am almost ten."

He sighed. "Samara…I am only living here temporarily."

"That is not what I heard." She spat.

"What did you hear?"

"I overheard mother speaking to someone about divorce. I'm not stupid! I know what divorce is! One of the kids at my school has parents who are divorced. He said they live in separate houses and don't talk to each other. That's what you and mother are doing! If that's the case, I want to be here with you."

Sesshomaru rubbed the back of his neck and sat by her. "Despite what you heard, we are not getting a divorce."His phone rang and he silenced it.

"Are you going to be working on Christmas?"

"No."

"Will you and mother be together on Christmas?"

He paused. "If she wants to."

"Do you want her to?"

"Of course."

"So, you both aren't getting a divorce? You're not lying to me?" she said. Her innocent face appeared so much wiser.

"I do not wish to let that happen." He said and got up. "Go unpack. Dinner should be ready shortly, I assume."

Samara nodded and gave a wide grin. "Can we call mother tomorrow morning? I was kind of mean to her today and wanted to apologize."

"Yes." He said and faced the fireplace. Samara left to unpack and he looked over his shoulder to make sure she was gone. He leaned his arm against the fireplace and rested his head in exhaustion. When was the last time he had any sleep? Since he started staying at the D.D.C manor, sleep wasn't very nice with him. It was hard to sleep in an empty bed, for one and his phone was never silent. He kept reminding himself that he was the only one qualified for the job. His father entrusted the position to him but at what cost was it to keep it? He was losing his family. His daughters fought each other, blaming each other that he and their mother weren't together. Kagome filed for divorce. He couldn't stand the thought of her being with anyone else, to have some strange guy sleep in his bed, raising his daughters. He felt his blood burn within his veins. His jaw tightened as well as his fists. He would never let it happen.

Kimora walked in and stood by the doorway holding her bag. She stared at her father wondering why he looked sad and cleared her throat. He snapped out of his daze and looked at her.

"Are you ok, daddy?" she said in her small voice. He inhaled deeply and crossed his arms. She walked over to the couch and heaved her heavy school bag on it. She sat down and fixed her dress and looked at him. He sat beside her, taking in her appearance. She had Kagome's light brown eyes and his thoughts drifted to a time when he watched Kagome sleep and her eyes opened slowly. The sun shone through the window making them look lighter and she giggled.

"Why are you watching me sleep?" she asked. "It's creepy."

I was waiting for you to wake up, he thought and kissed her.

Kimora blinked a few times wondering why her father had spaced out again.

"Daddy?"

"Yes." He said, snapping out of it again. He cleared his throat. "What is the assignment?"

Kimora showed him and he helped her with the difficult questions. At the same time, he couldn't help his thoughts drifting in and out. It was like a floodgate of memories had opened up. He recalled another memory of giving Kimora a bath. Kagome was sick that day and he was taking care of the twins. Kimora took off her diaper and started running around the house. When he would catch her and put her diaper back on, Samara took off her diapers and started running around and it would happen over and over back and forth for almost ten minutes.

When he snapped out of it again, he looked down noticing Kimora was holding her pencil but not writing. He looked at her and saw that she had fallen asleep. He grabbed the pencil out of her hands and notebook. He lay her down on the couch and placed a throw plush over her. He felt exhausted too but there was so much he had to do. Cado walked in and Sesshomaru placed his finger to his mouth.

"Dinner is ready." Cado announced quietly.

"Let her sleep for a little while. We'll wake her in an hour."

Cado nodded and sat down across from her. Sesshomaru stood up from the couch and gave one last look to his daughter before leaving the living room.

**********

The girls were surprised to be woken up by their father to have breakfast. They giggled in their pajamas as they walked beside him toward the kitchen. When they got there, Remy stood in one corner and Cado at the other. The table was decorated with a centerpiece of all sorts of fruit and there were plates of pancakes around the table.

Kimora drooled and Samara's eyes widened as they ran toward the table. Kimora stopped and looked at her father. "We can have pancakes?"

"Just this once." Sesshomaru frowned. He wasn't fond of the dish but knew the girls loved sweets. He and Kagome hardly let them have it but he wanted them to have a good time this Christmas break so he allowed it.

"What are we doing today?" Samara asked.

Sesshomaru looked between them both as he sipped his coffee. "Where would you like to go?" The doorbell rang and he frowned.

"Can we go to the planetarium?" Kimora asked.

"Alright."

"I want to go the art museum and then the mall."

"We can do all of those." He said.

"Really?" the girls said in unison and stared at each other with wide grins.

He looked down at the paper and sipped his coffee again. "After you're done with breakfast, get dressed." He heard the sounds of silverware hit the glass plates and he looked up from the paper. The forks rattled against the plate but his daughters weren't there. He looked toward Remy and Cado and they both walked away.

"Where did they go?"

"I think they went to get dressed, sir." Cado said.

An old man walked into the kitchen. He wore white robes with a red sash and tunic that bore gold crosses and trimmings. Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder and sipped his coffee.

"Bishop Giovanni…" Sesshomaru greeted.

"Lord Sesshomaru…it has been a long time."

"Yes…"he said and looked at his watch. "What are you doing here?"

"Did your secretary not tell you I was coming? I have important things to discuss with you and you've been unreachable."

"I cannot speak now, I am about to leave."

"This cannot wait, my lord. If you don't act now…The Vatican will take extreme measures."

Sesshomaru stood up and nodded. "Then we'll have to discuss this on the way."

"Where to, my lord?"

"The planetarium…"he said and the bishop cocked a brow. Two girls rushed passed him and grabbed Sesshomaru's arms.

"Come on, Daddy." Kimora said. "We need to go now. They have an exhibit that starts at nine and it gets crowded fast!"

The bishop looked between both girls and looked at Sesshomaru with a smile. He laughed and his blue eyes leered back at them. "I see now. Well, let's go to the planetarium."

Kimora and Samara looked confused. Kimora let go of her father's arm and walked toward the man.

"Are you a priest?" she said.

"Not exactly." He said.

Samara tugged her father's sleeve and he looked at her. "Who is he, father?"

"A friend." He said.

"Is he coming with us?" she asked.

"Yes."

Samara frowned. "You're working, aren't you?"

"No." he lied and looked at the bishop.

"I've always wanted to see the planetarium." He said in his heavy Italian accent.

"It's so cool." Kimora said. "I've been there a hundred times! I want to work there when I grow up."

"Let's just go." Samara spat as she walked off. Kimora followed her and Bishop Giovanni looked apologetically at Sesshomaru.

"I'm so sorry to intrude, my lord. It's just that this is very urgent."

It always is, Sesshomaru thought. "It is fine. Let us be on our way."

************

Kagome buttoned her shirt back on and got off the table. The doctor scribbled down something in the folder and she went to sit next to him.

"So, what's the verdict?"

"Well, the blood work came back. It seems that the reason you haven't gotten the headaches anymore is because your body has stopped resisting the foreign DNA."

"So what does that mean?" Kagome asked.

"How have you been feeling lately, Lady Kagome?"

"Um, fine…I guess. Like I said, I don't get the headaches anymore. My teeth don't hurt as much anymore and I've gotten used to the burning in my eyes when I get emotional."

"Uh huh…"the doctor said and leaned back into his chair with amusement.

"I cut myself the other day with a pair of scissors and it healed incredibly fast. I don't know. What's going on? Do I still have demon DNA inside?"

"Lady Kagome…it appears your body has adapted to the mutation. We sent the results to the department of molecular and human genetics and they sent back a confirmation."

"What is it?" she asked, feeling terrified of the outcome.

"Lady Kagome, according to this you are no longer a human."

"What?" she chuckled in disbelief. "What do you mean?"

"It's hard to say but your DNA is no longer that of a human."

"So…what am I, a half-breed, a demon?

"I'm not sure…it's similar to the Hanyou DNA code but there is a slight difference. We aren't sure what it is yet."

Kagome blinked back confusion. "How did this happen though?"

"It somehow has something to do with the twins, I believe. You weren't supposed to survive that pregnancy. I'm sorry to be blunt but it is the truth. My speculations would be that your daughters are the reason you are alive. But why one is a half breed and the other has full demon blood is still questionable to me. Perhaps when they were forming in the womb, something happened. Maybe your husband's genes are very strong…I…I don't know what to say, I'm left speechless…only more tests will bring us to the answer."

"But, Sesshomaru's father had a child with a human; she didn't turn into a half-breed or whatever."

"You had twins." He said. "Your risks were much greater. It has something to do with your health; you were probably near death at one point. This does not happen, that's the thing… you are a scientific discovery. There is proof that a human can survive mutation with DNA of a demon's. This can also be why you haven't aged since the mutation not that there should be much difference, of course, you are still in your twenties….but you look, sorry to say, like a teenage girl."

"I don't know how I feel about this." Kagome said, feeling faint.

"It isn't completely bad. Think of it as you found the fountain of youth."

"Demons are not immortal." She said.

"Yes, but they take a long time to age and with the abundance of white cells in a demon vessel, disease doesn't come so easily nor can it survive so long which is why you heal very quickly."

"You're not going to tell anyone about this, are you?" Kagome asked. "I don't want to be some freak show about how a human became a demon or something like that."

"No, of course not. You are protected by the seal of doctor-patient confidentiality but please consider to a trial of testing. We would love to understand this more."

"I'll think about it…" Kagome said as she grabbed her coat. "I have enough problems in my life right now…I don't need this adding to it. Is there no way to reverse the…whatever, the mutation?"

"I don't believe so. It's like a disease that ran its course. The damage is done…"he said. "but I'd hardly call this damage."

Kagome nodded and put on her coat. She walked out the door where she met up with Haji. He opened the door for her and they left the medical clinic.

"So, is everything alright, my lady?" he asked and Kagome scoffed.

"Everything is wonderful. I only found out that I'm no longer human and that my eyes burning, my gums breaking when the fangs come out, and my retard strength of breaking refrigerator doors is only the beginning."

"I see…"Haji said as he opened the car door for her. "Well, take it from me, my lady. It isn't so bad."

"I'm sorry, Haji. I wasn't referring to….anyway, you were born a demon…you know how to use it…the abilities, you know? After ten years, I just found out how to retract the fangs willingly."

"Where to now?" he asked.

Christmas is next week, she thought. She had to get presents for the girls. Sesshomaru's birthday was coming also. Should she get him anything? It would be awkward. Here you go, a new Rolex, did you sign the divorce papers yet? She looked at Haji and got inside the car.

"Let's go to the mall."

*****************

Kimora and Samara ran around the planetarium throwing 'moon' pebbles at each other, which were jellybeans they got from the gift shop. Sesshomaru also got them a plastic laser beam gun that made weird noises when the trigger was pressed. Cado and Remy dodged some of them. Samara stood on top of a rock and claimed it as planet Samarala and she was a Samaran.

"I invade your planet. I will drain it of its resources and dispose it like garbage!" Kimora feigned a drone like voice and yapped away some foreign language she made up.

Samara scoffed. "I will never let you have my planet or my people! You Kimorans have destroyed our universe and now you will pay. "

Kimora droned in a monotonic voice. "Unhand it at once and maybe I'll let you survive…you can think it over as I blast you with my atomic photon laser." She pressed the trigger and the gun made noises.

Samara laughed and jumped onto another display rock. "Xenon has no effect on me! I am immune. I've heard of your weakness though, so facile it's disgusting. Take that!" Samara grabbed a bottle of water and sprayed it at Kimora.

"Noooooo, H2o! Aghhhhhh…"

"Hmph!" Samara preened. "It looks like I didn't even have to use my plasma gun." She walked away.

Sesshomaru stared at his daughters, listening to their little act and glanced at the bishop. What were these kids watching?

The bishop laughed as he and Sesshomaru walked around the exhibit.

"Your daughters are very imaginative." He said.

Sesshomaru folded his hands behind his back as he watched them. How is it they could get into a fight if they were so close with each other? "So, what has been going on in the Vatican that requires my attention?"

"There were two murders on Vatican grounds. Two human tourists murdered by a group of demons."

"And you are sure they are demons?"

"The victims chests were carved, it read: 'Demoni regneranno per sempre"

"I see." Sesshomaru said. Well, that's an obvious hint. "Did the Vatican approach the matter yet?"

"They said it is your jurisdiction. They don't want any problems but if you can have your people reconcile the issue discreetly. If this doesn't get solved, demons will no longer be allowed on the grounds anymore and people will start to question why. It would be a shame to take a step back, do you not agree?"

Sesshomaru sighed. "I will send some men down to rectify the problem."

"Thank you…"

"Father, can we go to the art museum now?" Samara asked.

Bishop Giovanni bowed his head. "This is where we part ways, my friend. Take care and hope we don't have to meet again under these circumstances." He walked away and Kimora wrapped her arm around her dad.

"You have strange friends, Daddy."

Speaking of strange, he thought. "What are you both watching on television these days?"

**********

"There are my darlings!" shouted a woman when they got home. Kimora and Samara looked at their father but he looked surprised as well. Cado and Remy bowed.

"Good Evening, Lady Saya." They said in unison.

"Mother….what are you doing here?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Is that any way to greet your mother? Girls, come and give your grandmother a hug."

Samara smiled and ran to her but Kimora stood by her dad.

"Hi, Grandma…"she said in a low voice. She didn't like her grandmother very much. She was sure her grandmother liked Samara better just because she was a full demon. Every time she was around, she'd always scold Kimora for something. It always started with. 'Kimora, a lady must never blah blah blah'. Her aunt Rin came by once with her uncle Sota, they were both in a band and they taught Kimora the drums. Her grandmother walked in and said 'Kimora! A lady must never play an obnoxious instrument. It must be delicate and graceful such as herself.'

"Grandmother, are we going to have tea?" Samara asked as she grabbed her hand.

"Yes, after you and your sister wash up."

Samara grinned. "Come on, Kimora."

Kimora sighed and bowed her head as she followed. Sesshomaru felt bad for her. He knew exactly how she felt.

"Actually, Kimora has assignments to do and I must go over it with her." He said and grabbed Kimora. "She'll meet you later."

Kimora looked unexpectedly at her father and smiled. She looked at her grandmother and nodded.

"Yes, I have lots of homework!"

Lady Saya cocked a brow and twirled her pearl earring. "Pretty enthusiastic for school assignments, aren't you?" she said. "A lady must focus on other things as well, like finding a mate."

"Mother…"Sesshomaru hissed.

"Well, I'm not saying now, of course!" she giggled. "I know they have a few more years."

It never occurred to him that his daughters would grow and become women one day. They'd have to start dating or getting married and he felt rage stirring within him. Had he bore sons, it would be entirely different.

"Please, go enjoy your tea." He said, looking at Samara.

His mother glared at him suspiciously. "You and I must talk soon."

He glanced bitterly at her and walked off with Kimora to help her with her homework.


	3. Chapter 3

Sesshomaru exhaled as he gazed at the ceiling. His eyelids grew heavy but he just couldn't fall asleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw blood. He heard screams. The past year held moments that tortured him at night. The evening he was on his way back home to Kagome and his daughters. A van of demon terrorists shot at him and ran his car off the bridge. They were there for him but instead shot his driver and the Vice President of the D.D.C. He had been very lucky that they didn't bother to confirm if he was dead or not. He crawled out of the vehicle, a piece of the window was imbedded into his hip and he had many cuts on his face. He called for a team and they came within minutes. Helicopters hovered the night's sky searching for the van but they never found it. Since then he couldn't help wonder that if he had been close to the house, they would have gotten his family. His job was beginning to follow him home.

He wanted Kagome and the girls to have a safe place to be. Away from the effects of his business tactics and away from the drama but he couldn't disappear out of their lives completely. He was unable to. He grew accustomed to pain his chest, the pain he felt when he and Kagome were apart in bad spirits. The only way he got through the night was him convincing himself it would be over soon. He'd find the people who wanted him dead and he could be back home, to watch his daughters grow up and be with his wife. His eyes drifted again and he felt sleep about to take over when he heard a loud scream of terror. It was Kimora. He shot up from his bed and darted out of his room. The screaming continued as he ran fast.

"Father!" he heard Samara shout and he ran into the room.

Kimora was sitting up on her bed, her eyes opened, screaming in agony. He scanned the room, confused and looked at her. She started crying and shouting in a way he couldn't understand. He took a deep breath and knelt down. He grabbed her shoulder but she continued to scream.

"Father, it's her nightmares. She's still sleeping!" she said.

"Kimora!" he shook her arm.

"Please!" she sobbed. "Don't!"

"Kimora!" he shook her again and her eyes appeared to focus. She stopped crying and screaming and looked around the room, confused.

"Daddy?" she said and he stared into her brown eyes. They were red rimmed, dark veins pulsating in them. Her hair was damp and it stuck to her sweaty face. She patted her face and looked at her wet hand.

"Was I having nightmares again?" she asked and Sesshomaru tried to control his heart as he answered. He still felt alert and cautious. Was this what Kagome was talking about? What kind of nightmares did she have to have her scream the way she did?

He saw both guards by the hallway and stood up. "Remy, can you have her cleaned up."

Remy nodded as she grabbed Kimora and led her to the bathroom. Sesshomaru looked at Samara and ran his hand through his hair.

"Do you know what the nightmares are about?"

Samara shrugged. "It' different every time. Last time it was of me, the other time it was of mother but she is always talking about a monster with blue hair and red eyes."

"You should not be watching horror flicks." He said.

"We don't." Samara said. "Mother doesn't allow it either. She just gets these dreams."

Sesshomaru felt himself calm down after a few minutes as he walked around their room. He saw Kimora's sketchpad on her bed and grabbed it. He looked through it and frowned at the pictures. In each page, she drew this blue monster with red eyes. He couldn't help feel disturbed by some of the pictures. In one picture, it was of herself flying or falling off of a building. The monster was on the top of the building laughing. Between her and the top of the building was a star with arms reaching for her. He closed the book and tucked Samara back inside the bed.

Remy came back with Kimora and led her to Sesshomaru. Her hair was wet and brushed back into ponytail and she had changed into new pajamas. Sesshomaru knelt down and placed her on the bed.

"Are you watching horror flicks?" he said in a low calm voice.

"No, Daddy." She said.

"You know there is no such thing as monsters?"

"I know….but it is still scary in my dreams."

He leaned in and whispered in her ears. "It can't hurt you, remember that."

She nodded and lay on the bed. He tucked her in and looked at the both of them, registering that they are safe in their beds and turned off the light. He looked at Remy and Cado.

"I want more men watching this door and outside their window."

"Yes, sir." They said and started talking in their mouthpieces as he walked away. Now there was no way he couldn't sleep. Regardless if it was a petty thing like nightmare scare, he would not be calm enough to rest. This had to stop. He couldn't live the rest of his life worrying like this.

**** ********

Sesshomaru checked his phone for messages and looked at his laptop. What a mess, he thought. This new secretary hadn't sort out his mail into most important to not important at all like Lana had. What job could possibly offer a salary greater than his to have Lana leave? He shook his head and shut his laptop. Samara walked into his study and sat across from him.

"Father, I have a question. I've been planning a sleepover for a month now. It is supposed to take place tomorrow night. I spoke with grandmother and she planned a banquet in your honor so the cousins will be coming anyway. They can stay here and we can accommodate them in the guest rooms. This place is big enough. What do you think?"

"Aren't you punished?" he asked as he looked through his phone. This new secretary was incompetent. Who cared if some President of a small country was getting married? He was going to fire this woman.

"Well, mother restricted the television and music but…"

"I believe the sleepover was restricted as well."

"Come on, father! This is supposed to be Christmas break. The people I invited cancelled their ski trips to come. They will be so angry with me if I have to cancel."

He sighed as she continued to whine. He had work to do and needed to focus. He looked at his watch and then at her. All of the energy he had put into his work left him powerless against a ten year old. She was walking all over him and he knew it but for the time being, he had to let it pass.

"Fine. Keep your guests under twenty and no fighting with your sister."

"Of course!" she clapped and jumped in her chair.

Loud music sounded from the hallway and there was cheering and shouting coming from the end of the hall. Sesshomaru looked at his daughter as he heard people singing. One of them sounded like Kimora.

'_She was a fast machine,_

_she kept her motor clean, _

_she was the best damn woman that I've ever seen!_'

Samara rolled her eyes. "Uncle Inuyasha and Koga are here. Koga brought his drum set and guitar, he said you told him he could practice here."

I did not, he thought as he stood up and walked out of his study. He continued to hear Kimora shouting obscene lyrics and walked into the living room. Inuyasha was jamming away on his air guitar, Koga pounded on the drums and Kimora jumped on the couch.

'_Shook me all night long, yeah, you shook me all night_….' She stopped and dropped on the couch. She twirled her hair across her mouth and bowed her head.

"Yo!" Koga greeted as he stopped. Inuyasha turned off the stereo.

"What are you doing?"

"Playing around. Kimora wanted to learn the drums. You said I could bring the drum set and practice here with her."

"I never said that." Sesshomaru said and glared at his brother.

Koga scratched his head. "Maybe I dreamt that….it would make sense to why you were wearing a dress and brushing your teeth while you said that."

Sesshomaru glanced at his watch. Perhaps them being here wasn't entirely a bad thing. He needed to go to his job and find some files and kill Lana for being so unorganized with his agenda.

"I will return in a little while."

Kimora eyed him sadly. "Where are you going, daddy?"

"I have to pick something up from the office." He said.

"You're going to work?"

"Just for a little while." He said, trying to avoid her gaze. "Just stay with Inuyasha and Koga. I will return momentarily."

"Promise?" she said as she followed him to the door. He turned around, seeing her stand in the middle of the hallway looking so small. He nodded and she smiled and headed back to the room. He grabbed his long white trench coat and grabbed his car keys. One of the guards followed and he paused in the hallway.

"I am to go alone." He said.

The guard hesitated. "But, sir. You should have some of us escort you."

"Your job is to watch my daughters and that is it." He said and walked out. The guard stood down.

When Sesshomaru got to the office, people were surprised to see him. He could hear the whispers circulating.

"I thought he was on vacation." Said one person.

"He looks upset, look busy everyone!" said another.

He strode down the hallway toward his office and stopped at the desk in front of his office. Sitting in his Lana's desk was a young woman with black hair.

"Who are you?" he asked, impatiently.

"Uhhh…."she stammered as she stood up. "S-Sara, your new secretary?"

She looked different than the last time he saw her. Her hair was up and she had tons of makeup on. He could smell the strong floral perfume coming from her desk. He dismissed it quickly and glared at his her, sizing her up and down briefly. "Do you know how to filter emails? Place them in order from urgent to not so urgent?" he waved his blackberry at her with the emails she had been forwarding to him. "How is…" he stopped and opened the mail on his phone. "The shah of Iran's 49th birthday bash more important than Demon troops holding over one hundred hanyous captive in Siberia?"

"I'm s-sorry, sir. I guess I sent the list backwards. My mistake…it won't happen again."

Sesshomaru rubbed his chin and nodded. "Where are the lists of my meetings on Thursday?"

"I thought you weren't working on Thursday. You had said to cancel your meetings."

Sesshomaru stared at her austerely and blinked. Could this woman be that stupid? "I am off until Wednesday, why would you cancel the meetings on Thursday. What is on Thursday?" he sighed. She quickly looked through her agenda.

"Y-you have a meeting with the secretary of defense regarding the bio chemical products being cultivated in New Mexico at 8am, meeting with Agent Foster from the N.S.A at noon, at 3pm you have a conference with Judge Harris to re-open the case that tried Tsuyoko Bokunaska and Dosuka-"

"Stop right there…"He said, his voice very calm but any fool could tell it masked anger. She looked up at his blazing eyes. "Do those things sound unimportant for me to cancel?"

"N-no but…"

Sesshomaru growled to himself. "Nevermind…." He waved her off as he entered his office. He removed his coat and threw it on the chair and sat down. He buried his face into his hands and rubbed his eyes. He looked around his desk and started searching for papers when something occurred to him.

"The case…"he said to himself. "The case…" he whispered as he searched through his desk. Lana was supposed to take care of it before leaving. He hoped she kept her word. He exhaled in relief when he found it under all the folders. It was what he came for. Lana had stayed with him all night looking for all the documents of the people he had tried in court. It was one of the last cases he needed to look at. Everyone else was no longer a threat. There was a knock at the door. He didn't answer and frowned when it opened. He looked up and saw his father. He scowled at the new secretary behind her desk who looked back confused.

"You let him in?" he scowled.

"Oh, be nice, Sesshomaru." His father winked at the secretary and closed the door. He walked over to the desk and sat in a chair beside it.

"That woman is a fool."

"She's new. Give her a break."

"Koga could do a better job."

His father stared at him with great concern and sighed. "Shouldn't you be home with the twins?"

"I had to check on something." He said not looking from the folder.

"I heard about the divorce." His father said and Sesshomaru looked up.

"Don't pay any mind to it. She doesn't know what she is doing." He looked back down at the folder.

"Sesshomaru…"his father spoke. "When I gave you the position, I knew you would be great at making changes but you are taking in more than you can handle. You have to remember, you are just one person. You cannot save the entire world."

"Shouldn't you be playing golf with the elders somewhere?" Sesshomaru ignored him and flipped through the documents. "Damn it…"

"What is it?"

"I have no lead to who fired the shots a few months ago. Everyone is either dead or we have them under our custody." His father opened his mouth to interject but he waved his hand. "I already checked to see if they have someone on the outside and have some of my men searching."

"Have you considered Haji as a suspect?" his father said. "I don't know how you have him, out of all people, guarding Kagome."

"No, he has been loyal. Besides, he is very good. He's a former Tamashi so his skills are impeccable. He's more than qualified."

"But it was his brother that you had executed."

"It was Haji who had turned him in." Sesshomaru looked at the picture frames on his desk. There was a picture of the twins at the age of two. The other was his wedding photo and another was a recent picture of the twins. His father could never know that the only reason he had Haji's brother executed was because he was the murderer of Inuyasha's mother. It took his father many years to heal and knowing this would send him to a state he could never return from.

"Sesshomaru, please listen to me…You look exhausted. Your wife wants a divorce and you hardly see your kids. I know you very well. You are never satisfied and always want more. You want to fix everything but you can't. Please, stop this."

"I can't do that." He said and let out an exasperated sigh.

"You almost died earlier this year. Don't you think it is a wakeup call to spend more time with your family?"

"I do not need you to lecture me. I know what I am doing." He uttered curtly, trying very hard not to show that he was getting to him. Why did everyone assume he was alright with the way things were going? Did they think he really didn't want to save his marriage or be with his daughters? With Kagome's unstable health conditions, he couldn't let her know what was going on. She would constantly be worried for him and for the girls that her nerves would go haywire. Even after ten years, she still couldn't control her body's changes.

"There is something you aren't telling me." His father said, studying him. "Something else is going on."

"Do not concern yourself. This is not your job anymore."

"Fine. I will not say more but I am only going to say this once, you are going to lose. Either you are going to lose your direction or you are going to lose your family."

Sesshomaru pondered his words silently and walked toward the window. Who is it? Who is toying with him? Who keeps sending him threatening letters? Who shot at him earlier this year? Whoever it was, he doesn't hear from them in months and then they send a letter to keep him cautious at all times; to never be at ease because they want to let him know they can attack from anywhere at any time.

"Just go home. You are missing out on a lot of things. It can be hard for Kagome to bring up demon children without their demon father there. They need your strength."

Sesshomaru almost considered it. How badly he wanted to just go home and slip under the covers next to Kagome and hold her, to be absorbed in her scent and warmth and hear her laugh with their daughters. But then a cloud went over that option and replaced it with fear of bringing danger to them. The D.D.C had excellent security and he could always have Kagome and the girls move in with him here but she wouldn't want that for her and the girls. Growing up around guards and soldiers, seeing choppers come in with hundreds of their wounded or casualties. It wasn't a life he wanted for them anyway.

He grabbed his coat and stood up. He looked out the window, it began to snow. He grabbed his car keys and grabbed the files from his desk.

"Where are you going?" his father asked.

"Back to the manor…" he said and walked out of the office. He glared at the secretary as he passed. "Try to be more organized, Sandra."

She opened her mouth but he was down the hallway already. She watched his father come out of the office and smile at her. "Don't worry about it, Sally. He's just having a bad week."

She sighed and looked at the computer screen. "It's….Sara."

***************

Feeling an empty void at home, Kagome decided to get out. It was the weekend and she didn't have much work to do. Being so awesome at what she does, she knew she had already won the case without hearing the jury's final verdict. After her impeccable deduction, cunning cross examinations and final speech; she had the jury wrapped around her fingers. Sipping a martini in one of Manhattan's exclusive bars, her thoughts drifted in and out. She must have looked pathetic sitting by herself but it was only a matter of time before Koga would show up. Haji stood sentry a few feet away from her like a statue scanning the crowd. Two guards waited by the car and another two paced around the bar, checking everyone out. Kagome didn't notice, it was something she'd gotten used to.

She had called Koga when she got home hoping he would meet her and have dinner. She needed to keep her mind occupied. She missed the girls terribly and Sesshomaru…she didn't want to think about him. Her finger traced the rim of her martini glass as she scanned around the bar. Happy hour usually brought in the corporate crowd and unhappily married men stood in one corner checking out their new secretaries and underage girls posing of drinking ages. Kagome remembered a time when she felt suspicious of Sesshomaru having an affair with his secretaries. They were always gorgeous women who she, without a doubt, knew were attracted to him. He never gave her reason to believe he was unfaithful but her insecurities always ran amok. It came with having an overly attractive husband that every woman wanted. After meeting Lana, she felt at ease. It wasn't that Lana wasn't attractive but she had come to know her and believed she was a woman that could respect a married man. An image popped into her mind, one she refused to remember during her times of coping with the divorce. Sesshomaru had come home late, wordless than usual but perturbed. He slipped under the covers and held her tightly kissing her shoulder. It was an affection she hadn't experienced with him since he'd become engrossed at work. He had been breathless, shaken almost, and his heart was beating hard and fast against her chest, like he was afraid of something. She thought it to be odd and questioned him what was wrong but he didn't explain. He just roughly removed her clothes and his and made love to her. It was the last time they made love.

She felt her cheeks burn and presumed it to be the effects of her second cosmo when she heard her name called. It was unfamiliar and she looked over her shoulder.

"Kagome…it is you."

Haji stepped forth pressing his earpiece, the other guards were notified and headed toward the oval booth she sat at. She looked reluctant but it only took her seconds to register who the man in front of her was. His long black hair fell down his back and he stared at her with his crystal green eyes. The smirk that he wore was one he carried even during his pubescent times and she felt like she'd fallen back into the past.

"Sasuke?" she said, still unsure but she raised her hand at the guards. They stopped, looked at Haji who nodded and walked away. Sasuke glanced between the guards and looked at her perplexedly. He loosened his tie as he came closer. He looked dashing in a black suit, still handsome as she remembered.

"I cannot believe it's you." He chuckled. "I, well, this is just strange. You actually came into my mind the other day. It's been what, like eight or nine years?"

"Something like that." She said, still surprised to have seen him. She sipped her cosmo and looked down at the floor. Their last encounter wasn't very peaceful and she wondered what to say next.

"How've you been?" he said, beating her to it. He studied her and pointed to the seat next to her. "May I?"

"Uh, sure…." She said and removed her purse from the seat. "Um…I've been good. Yourself?"

"Great…"he smiled. " You look…amazing. I mean, like you didn't even age a year since high school."

"Yeah…guess I have some good genes…"she laughed, awkwardly.

He frowned. "You even smell different."

"Excuse me?"

"I am so sorry." He shifted in his seat and clasped his forehead. "That was so uncalled for, so rude of me…I just…I guess I am just nervous. I haven't seen you in so long."

"It's…fine."

"Tell me, are you married, do you have kids?"

She paused, still finding that question hard to getting used to. She really was getting old. "Uh…I have two girls and…"she thought over her situation with Sesshomaru. The divorce was supposed to be quiet and kept from general knowledge, at least until they told the girls. "and I'm married, yes. Uh…how about you?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I have a son. His name is Arahim. My wife and I are divorced."

"Divorced?" Kagome cocked a brow. "But I thought…demons don't…"

"Yes, well, it seems times are changing now. Traditions are dying."

"Yeah…"Kagome snorted a dry laugh. "I suppose you are right."

"I actually moved back to New York about a month ago. I was living in China for a while, you know, taking care of family businesses."

"Yes…"she forced a smile. "I know."

"So, your husband…"he cleared his throat. "Might I know him?"

"Uh…"she stammered looking at her cosmo. "Uh…you might." She bit her lip. Of course he would know. That was like asking if you knew who the president of the United States was. "His name is Sesshomaru."

"Sesshomaru?" he blinked. "Wait, you aren't talking about the general, are you? Head of the D.D.C?"

"Yeah…"she turned her head and rolled her eyes. "That would be him."

"You're the human wife he had wed." Sasuke covered his mouth, stunned as he glanced at Haji. "That explains the high security. I hadn't expected it to be you..."

"Why? Because I'm a commoner?"

"Kagome…that's not what I…" he sighed. "You know how hard it was for me to let you go? Being a teenager and threatened by my father, I couldn't…it's hard to explain."

She remained quiet and nodded. Sesshomaru had endured threats by his mother and clan. He still went off to marry her. Apparently it wasn't that hard, it just took guts. "Uh huh…"

Sasuke frowned. "I guess there are no excuses for what I've done to you."

"I was kicked out of my house because of you." She gritted her teeth, the anger suddenly boiling under her skin. "My mother wouldn't speak to me for almost a year."

"I don't know what I can do to prove how sorry I am…"he lowered his head. A new crowd of people came into the bar and they were obstreperous. They both looked around the bar, not meeting each other's gaze in a silence that would make one want to commit suicide. After a few but long minutes, she smiled.

"You know…if it hadn't happened though…I wouldn't have had my daughters, so in some weird sense I should be thanking you."

He flashed a half grin and nodded. "If it's any consolation, I have not stopped thinking about you."

"Well, I can honestly say I haven't thought about you." She shot back and then felt a pang of guilt. "I'm sorry. This is just water under the bridge. It was a long time ago, we were young. I think I still carry some residual anger and wanted to just get it out."

"Understandable. I deserve it. Is there any way we can start over? I mean, friends that is"

"I wouldn't say friends…"she grinned sympathetically. "but not enemies."

"I'll take it." He said and they shook hands. She finished her drink and glanced at her watch. Where was Koga? Sasuke's gaze darted up and down, observing her. Her skin glowed and she smelled of vanilla. How could he let such a beautiful thing out of his life? He found himself nervous again, like he was on a first date. She hated him, he knew this. Despite their efforts to start over, a grudge like hers wouldn't just vanish over night. His eyes landed on her hands and he glanced up perplexed.

"Why do you not wear your ring?"

"My what?" she asked but then realized what he asked. She looked at her hand and hid it under the table. "I forgot it at home."

"You were always a terrible liar, Kagome." He said, narrowing his green eyes at her. "You forget that I know you so well."

"Yeah…"she nodded. "I'm really not the same person anymore so don't base your consensus on past observations."

"Hmph." He bowed his head. The waitress walked over and he ordered a glass of wine. Kagome asked for another cosmo and looked at her watch. "Are you expecting someone?"

"Yes, I-"

"Sorry I'm late." Said a raspy voice and they both looked up. Koga stood very angular in his black leather jacket, his hands buried into the pockets. He glared at Sasuke, sizing him up and down and looked at Kagome. "Who's your friend?"

"Koga, this is Sasuke." She said, her tone chirpy from the buzz.

Sasuke stood up and extended his hand out. He avoided his suspicious glare with a smile. "Hello, I'm an old friend of Kagome's. We went to high school together."

"Uh...huh." Koga sucked his teeth, looking between him and Kagome. He ignored his extended welcomed hand and looked at Kagome. "Can we get out of here? This place is lame…just a bunch of suits and prudes, not my style, you feel me?"

Kagome sighed with a smile. She stood up and grabbed her purse. "Okay. Sasuke, it was good to see you again."

"Kagome," Sasuke uttered vehemently. "I was wondering if we could get together again. Have lunch and catch up."

"How about-" Koga started but was immediately shut by Kagome's hand over his mouth.

"I don't know, Sasuke. It would be a little weird."

"It will be just two friends having a chat."

"Um…sure." She finally said and handed him her business card. He glanced at it and gaped at her. The waitress walked over to them with the drinks.

"You're a lawyer?"

"Yes." She smirked, proud and way too tipsy. She pulled out her wallet to pay but Sasuke waved his hand.

"Allow me to take care of the bill."

"Oh, no, that's ok, really."

"Please, it would be my honor." He pulled out his wallet and handed the waitress his credit card.

"Um…" Make his ass pay, she mused. After the crap she went through it didn't take much convincing. "Sure, thanks." She downed the cosmo and rose her glass in thanks.

Koga sighed. "Can we go now?"

Kagome didn't have time to answer. She was pulled out of the door without saying goodbye. Haji and the rest of the security followed. When they got out of the building, Koga released her and looked over his shoulder disapprovingly at her.

"What?"Kagome spat defensively.

"What was that?" Koga spat back.

"What was what?"

"That? Captain America over there with his million dollar smile."

"Sasuke?"

"Whatever, yeah, him."

"Like he said, we know each other from high school."

"It looked like you guys were flirting."

"Koga, what are you, the relationship police? I was waiting for you and he came up to me. You're acting like a jealous boyfriend. Why are you late anyway?"

"I was at Sesshomaru's, you know, _your husband_?" he patted his coat for cigarettes.

"Soon to be ex-husband. Come on, you know the situation between us." She scoffed.

"Yes, and it's so stupid. You never listen and you never learn."

"I didn't ask for this."

"Neither did he."

"I swear, sometimes I feel like you are more of his friend than mine!"

"Oh come on!" he followed her when she stormed down the block. "You think this is easy for me? I'm like the third wheel in this relationship, a fuckin' mediator. It's what I get for being the mutual friend. I should have just stayed my ass in L.A." he stopped and lit a cigarette. "I swear, if I'm not hearing you complaining about him, it's him complaining about you! I regret the day I made him comfortable around me to talk."

"Wait, what do you mean when he complains about me? What is he saying?"

He paused. "You see?" He walked over to his car and pressed his alarm key and unlocked the doors. "I can't do this anymore, Kagome. I feel like I'm having a crisis here, I'm having heart palpitations. I get headaches and can't sleep at night and it's not even my relationship! You guys are ruining my life."

"I think that's the drugs, Koga." She teased and he glared at her.

"That's not funny." He pointed at her as they got into the car. "You know I'm straight edged now, so don't tarnish my character like that. "

"You smoke…you are not straight edged!"

"What the shit, man? Can't a man have some fuckin' vices?"

"Stop cursing so much."

"I curse when I'm pissed off. You're _pissing_ me off."

"You're pissing me off too!" she fumed.

They sat quietly in the car. She stared at her nails while he tapped the steering wheel. Haji and another guard got into the back of Koga's jeep. The others got into black BMWs', waiting to follow them. After the long silence Koga looked at his watch and sighed.

"I'm hungry."

"Me too…"she said. "Let's get Thai."

"You read my mind, doll face." He started the car and buckled his seatbelt. "You know I didn't mean that, right? You don't always piss me off."

"I know..." she smiled. "But can you promise me one thing?"

"What?"

"Tonight, can we not talk about Sesshomaru?"

Koga let out a deep sigh and glanced at her. "Sure. I won't mention a word about him."

"Good."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Kagome sniffed. "I just don't get it, you know? I mean, I know he has a tough job. There are probably like a million things that happens there that he can't tell me but I just feel…I just feel like it's not that he _can't_ tell me but he doesn't _want_ to tell me….maybe he feels like the girls and I are in his way. I mean, he leads the demon community, I'm sure somewhere deep down inside, he's embarrassed…maybe he regrets…"she stopped and fell into a sob. "Maybe he regrets being with me and having the girls."

Koga stared for a long while with a cigarette in his mouth, contemplating. She didn't want to talk about Sesshomaru and here they were talking about him. All he said was that the coffee was good here and she started talking about Sesshomaru. He looked around the sidewalk café as Kagome sipped her fifth Irish coffee. Everyone stared at them, perplexed, glaring at him as if he were the boyfriend breaking her heart at the table. Haji stood by the corner with his head down, occasionally looking up debating if he should take Kagome home. At one moment, he made the gesture of doing so but Koga shook his head.

"The only reason he doesn't want to get a divorce is because he doesn't want to look bad." She gritted. "It's not because he wants us to work it out and be together."

"That's not true."

"Stop defending him, you don't know that!"

"Okay." He said, but he did know that. He'd see Sesshomaru at least twice a week; both times he'd question him to death about Kagome. 'What did she say?', 'Who has she been with?', 'Is there someone else?' Finally, he had enough and questioned Sesshomaru about what was going on but he remained as secretive with him as he was with her. 'It is complicated but I do not want her to know.' That's what he told him. He sighed, so now he was left with an overemotional sobbing Kagome and an interrogating cold bastard. "You're going to his birthday, aren't you?"

"I have to." Kagome steadied herself and sat up straight as she wiped her eyes. "The girls are expecting me and it's Christmas Eve. He said he couldn't come to the house so we had to go over there. I'm just going to stay the night there and leave Christmas afternoon. I can't really control my feelings around him and I don't want us arguing in front of the girls."

"When are you telling them?"

"I didn't want to ruin their holiday so perhaps a few days before they return to school."

Koga put out his cigarette and leaned forward in his chair. "You sure about this? This is a big decision…once you tell kids this, you can't just go 'Hey, we worked it out and changed our mind.' Kids are unstable with that stuff."

"I know…."she said, her voice unsure. "but…what is worse? Divorced parents or parents who are 'together' but don't speak to each other, argue all the time and live separately?"

Koga rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. Time for a change of subject, he thought. "Hey, so how did the doctor's go, you still a freak of nature?" he shot a playful grin.

"Don't tell anyone." She sighed. "He said I'm not a human anymore."

"What?" Koga frowned. "But…you smell like a human." He stopped and sniffed. "You know, now that I think of it, kinda different….I don't know, maybe I am used to it because I'm always around you."

"Yeah well, I don't want to think about it really. Being able to hear conversations across the street as if they were near me, smelling strange scents and having to recognize them, having strength that scares even the guards isn't exactly the type of life I want to lead."

"Hey, it's not so bad." Koga spat defensively. "You just don't know how to use it, it's harder for someone who wasn't born with it."

"I don't know how you guys do it. I cried when my canine teeth were growing for the first time, it felt like my gums were being torn apart." She shook her head at the memory. She had her fangs filed down so no one would question her and had to make sure she had it done every other month. Fangs, unlike other teeth, actually grew back. Retraction was an option but she didn't want to take the risk of it protracting when she lashed out at someone.

"So…you're a half-breed now?"

"No, I don't think so…"she shrugged. "The doctor was unsure. He said my blood was like that of a half breed but still different. He wants to run more tests."

"Be careful with that." Koga said. "You never know what kind of weirdoes are out there to pay for this kind of thing. What humans would do to age slower and what demons would do to stop humans from having that? I think you should tell Sesshomaru."

"He doesn't need to know." She scoffed.

"Kagome, this is something that needs to be watched over. If anyone finds out…"

"You're the only person who knows…"she said. "…and Haji."

Koga scoffed. "Anyone else you forgot?"

"That's it."

"What about the doctor?"

"No, there's that patient/doctor confidentiality thing. I don't think he would do that, not unless he wants a major lawsuit and lose his medical practice."

"This is so bizarre." Koga leaned back into his chair. "I wonder how this happened."

"Something to do with the twins." She finished her coffee. "So, how's Ayame?"

" Good. We took a little break because she got casted for some major role in a movie. She's moving up, no more yeast infection commercials or infomercials about the wonder mop."

"such a supportive boyfriend, Koga." She muttered satirically. "Why couldn't you and I have dated?"

"I love you, Kagome…but you would drive me insane. See, Ayame? She knows her place. She'll get smacked if she ever pulled the crap you did."

"You are such a liar." She laughed.

They sat at the café a little longer, joking around and talking about the past. It was a good thing she had a friend like Koga around. She didn't know how she was going to go through with everything if she hadn't.

"Hey, what's the deal with Samara?"

"What do you mean?"

"She used to love hanging with me and Inuyasha and Kimmy. We used to jam all the time and now she acts like she is too good for us…she acts like…"he stopped. He didn't want to bring him up again.

"I don't know." Kagome said. "I think she is starting to realize she is different from her sister, perhaps. She hates me now too. She doesn't call me 'mommy' anymore. She says 'mother'. Something is going on at school. It happens mainly when she comes home from school. Maybe the other kids are saying something."

Koga scoffed. "Kids. I swear, if we could only beat some sense into them without having to get in trouble. Maybe it's a cry for attention?"

"Well, I can't speak for Sesshomaru but I am always home. I am there before they get out of school so I can help them with their homework. I play dress up with them. We bake cookies! I don't think Samara is lashing out because of my absence."

"Well, she is lashing out for a reason." Koga added. "Maybe Sesshomaru's mother had something to do with it?"

"No, I don't think so. She may be cold hearted but despite Kimora being a half breed, she gives her the same treatment she does to Samara."

"Well, kids will be kids. I'm sure she'll get over it.

**************** ********************* **************************

Samara rummaged through her closet and pulled out a few dresses for tonight's party. It was Christmas Eve and the cousins would be coming with the rest of the clan to celebrate her father's birthday. Kimora looked up from her drawing book and brushed her white bangs out of her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"_I am_ looking for a dress which you should be doing also."

Kimora looked at her own outfit; a lilac floral dress over a pair of white Capri pants and purple converse sneakers. "I'll just wear what I'm wearing now."

"Are you insane?" Samara bristled over her shoulder. "You can't possibly wear that. It's father's birthday, you must look your best."

"Dad hates birthday parties, he was hiding in the library last year, remember? Mom was searching all over the manor for him."

"Whatever, Kimora. Wear what you want then! Don't expect me to defend you when the cousins remark on your clothing."

"They are not our cousins! Aunt Rin and Uncle Sota and Inuyasha don't even have kids."

"You know what I mean, the clan members. Tomorrow night is the sleepover; Denali Sambe is coming over with her sister. It's going to be great."

"Mom said you can't have the sleepover, remember? We're punished."

"We are in father's house and he said I can."

"He's so in trouble." Kimora mumbled under her breath as she went back to drawing. "Mom is going to find out and they are going to start arguing again."

"The only reason why they even argue is because they have a half-breed for a daughter." She glowered and pulled a few more dresses out of the closet. "Denali Sambe is so lucky to have a sister that is a demon just like her!" she spat as she stormed out of the room.

Kimora's lips twitched as she tried to ignore the comment but it was too late, it got to her. She turned to a new page in her drawing book and started drawing Samara. "like I wanted an evil demon sister like you anyway." She drew a quick stick figure of Samara with horns on her head and ripped it out of her book. She heard the sound of heels in hallway and gasped. It was her grandmother. She looked around the room and dashed under the bed.

"Samara?" her grandmother called out as she entered the room. "Kimora?" She scanned the empty room and crossed her arms in the doorway. "Kimora, I know you are in here, I can smell you."

Kimora frowned underneath the bed. Why couldn't she have a normal grandmother? The kind that couldn't walk up the stairs and wasn't able to smell you under the bed. She came from underneath the bed and stood up shamefully averting her grandmother's cold stare. She finally met her ice blue eyes.

"Why were you hiding?"

Kimora couldn't think of a good enough reason and shrugged. When all else fails, she thought. Her grandmother was tall and didn't look like those frail grandmothers that baked cookies and had a bad hip. No, her grandmother stood strong in the doorway, looking like she was in her forties and could outrun a track runner if she had to. Her long white hair tied back into a low bun. Her diamond earrings glistened from the sunlight shone through the window. "Kimora, a lady must never drop to her knees and hide. It isn't ladylike."

Kimora rolled her eyes. If she had a nickel for every time she said that. 'Kimora, a lady must never wear sneakers.', 'A lady must never run around the house, 'A lady must never talk showing her teeth.'

"Where's your sister?" she asked.

"I dunno."

"It's _I don't know_. A lady must speak properly and annunciate every her words. Now come, let's have tea and get your hair done."

"I don't like tea." Kimora whined. "Tea is for old people."

Her grandmother scowled. "Tea is a delicacy. You will learn to love it!" She pulled her out the door and ignored the screaming that usually came after when someone made Kimora do something she didn't want to.

Sesshomaru sat in his study going through his files and looked up hearing Kimora throwing a tantrum in the hallway.

"I don't want to drink tea, DADDY! DADDY!"

Sesshomaru sighed. He couldn't save her all the time. His Bluetooth blinked in his ear as he sorted through papers. Bishop Giovanni had called him for the millionth time to remind him about the situation at the Vatican. He pressed his Bluetooth and a voice emerged into his ear.

"_Che cosa dovremmo fare, signor...? Gli uomini sono pronti. " (What should we do, sir?)_

Sesshomaru replied in a harsh Italian and gave orders to the man on the other end. He hung up the call and looked through his mail.

He tried not to sigh when another call came through. He glanced at his watch. He told himself only thirty minutes in the study while the girls prepared for tonight but so far he'd been occupied for more than two hours. Luckily the girls were occupied with their own thing. He saw the German number and answered it.

Sesshomaru rubbed his forehead. "_Die Zeit drängt. Hat der Kongress sein Veto zum Vertrag eingelegt?  
Wenn dem nicht so ist kann ich meine Männer nicht losschicken."_ (Did congress veto the treaty? I cannot send my men if they haven't.)

A tall dark skinned man walked into the room holding an envelope, his eyes black as night with white markings on his face. "Sir, another one came in."

Sesshomaru raised a finger as he spoke a few more words and hung up the phone. He stood up and reached out his hand.

"Did this go through proper protocol?" he asked as the guard handed him the envelope.

"Yes, sir. It hasn't been tampered. No chemical residue or any hint of explosives."

"Did anyone see how it got here?"

"Nothing suspicious, sir. It was sent through the mail as usual with no return address."

Sesshomaru studied the envelope and nodded. "Thank you, Mudama. You may go now."

Mudama walked out and closed the door behind him as Sesshomaru walked back to his desk. He opened the envelope and inside was a DVD. He popped it into his laptop and played it, wondering what he was going to see now. His computer ran its usual virus scans as the file opened up. There was a white screen with black smudge, as if the camera were out of focus. When it came into focus, the letters started appearing.

'Traitor' was the first word. 'Murderer' was the second. 'Hypocrite' was the third. Then different pictures of people flickered through the screen. At first he didn't know who they were but it dawned on him suddenly that they were pictures of people he had sent to prison, had executed or exiled. There was no sound, just words popping on the screen.

'You took them from us.' Popped up on the screen then it faded and went out of focus. It focused back and then he frowned. 'Now we will take them from you.'

The screen went black and now it was just audio. It was the sound of a man screaming in agony. He wasn't pleading or crying for help, just screaming.

"I know that voice…" Sesshomaru said to himself but the screen was still black. The man continued to scream and then visual showed on the screen. A naked man sat on a chair, a black sack over his head with puncture wounds all over his body. Blood dripped down his chest as two masked figures stood at each side. They removed the sack off of the victim and Sesshomaru's eyes widened. It was Naraku. He felt his claws digging into his palm as he looked closer. Naraku looked into the camera; one eye opened the other punched in shut. He hadn't seen Naraku in years but spoken to him on occasion. The last time Naraku had been in Barcelona with a girl he met at a beach and wanted Sesshomaru to join him.

Then, after a drawn out silence, someone from behind the camera grabbed it and zoomed in on Naraku. The voice finally spoke behind the camera but they used a digital device to mask the vocal tone and pattern, his computer couldn't pick it up.

"Hope this will bring you sweet dreams." The voice said and in a quick and unexpected instant, two bullets pierced Naraku's head and the screen went black.

"What are you watching, father?" Samara said and Sesshomaru flinched in surprise. He had been so focused on the video, he hadn't heard anyone come in. He shut the screen and stood up, feeling his breaths become shallow. How much of that did she see, he thought.

"What are you doing in here?" Sesshomaru said, his voice escalating.

Samara stepped back, peering at him and the laptop confused. "You've been gone a while. I wanted to see what you were up to and I wanted to give you your present early."

"You know better than to come in the study. This is my place of work and not suited for the eyes of children!" he shouted and she dropped a bag she'd been holding in her hand. She took a few steps back and her eyes filled up with tears.

"You're not supposed to be working anyway!" she cried and ran out of the room.

"Samara…"he followed out the door but she was gone. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed as he walked back into his study. He stopped in front of the bag on the floor and picked it up. He walked over to the recliner by the window and dropped himself on it. They killed him, they killed Naraku. He shut his eyes and pondered. Think, damn it, think, who is doing this? Who could it be? He felt himself become frustrated and stood up again. He didn't even know where to start. He opened the bag and pulled out a thin velvet box and opened it, rested neatly was a black silk tie and two platinum crescent cufflinks with diamonds encrusted in it. The box shook in his hand and he set it on his desk. He walked over to the window, his hand still shaking. The video of Naraku's assassination replayed in his mind as if it were on loop, each time a different person sat in the chair. Images of bullets piercing his father's head, Inuyasha, his mother, Koga, Kagome, his daughters. This time the shaking spread to the rest of his body as he gripped the window panel, his teeth grinding against each other. A growl droned in his chest and moved its way up to his throat. He released the growl as he punched the window pane over and over and swung at the window causing it to shatter. Within seconds men ran into the room drawing their gun. They checked out the room and saw Sesshomaru standing by the broken window with a bloody hand.

One of them withdrew his gun and stepped forward. "Sir, is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, false alarm." He answered, everyone withdrew their guns. He slipped his bloody hand under his shirt and headed to the bathroom discreetly, avoiding any confrontation with his daughters. He had to collect himself. He would find him, whoever it was behind it and when he did, this person would learn a whole new meaning to torture.

************* ******************** ***********************

Kagome searched through her closet for something to wear groaning each time she looked at herself in the mirror trying them on. Even with a walk in closet full of dresses and shoes from all the top designers, she couldn't find anything to wear. Isabella sat on her bed reading a magazine.

"So is this a date?" Isabella asked.

"No, we're just getting coffee." Kagome retorted, pulling out an ivory knee length dress that clung to her curves perfectly. She smiled and raised it in the air victoriously. "This one is perfect."

"Perfect?" Isabella repeated. "and you say this is not a date?"

"It isn't." Kagome said, now searching for shoes.

"but this is your ex boyfriend from high school? Kagome, you know you are still married, right?"

"It isn't a date! Seriously, I would never go back out with Sasuke again…not after what he did."

"So, why are you going?"

"I just…"Kagome stopped and looked at Isabella. "I guess I just want a chance to show off what he missed, you know? I know this sounds immature but I've been dreaming of the moment where he can see how better off I am."

"That does sound immature." Isabella shook her head disapprovingly.

"You don't understand." Kagome glowered. "Anyway, it gives me something to do since _someone_ doesn't have the time to hang out."

"I'm sorry, principessa but not all of us are rich. I have work this afternoon." Isabella sat up and walked over to the walk in closet.

"Hey, I work too." Kagome pouted defensively.

"You don't have to, you just want to." Isabella looked through the dresses and pulled one out. "You'll have to let me borrow this one day."

" Keep it. I don't even wear it. It's not that I want to work but can you honestly see me at home doing nothing but spending money and hanging with the wives of the clan?" she scoffed. "You have never seen hate until you've seen these women."

"A lot of women believe that is the dream."

"Well, I wasn't working for a while when the girls were born. I was bored! Sitting at home, watching reruns and soap operas, sleeping, eating, and waiting for Sesshomaru to come home."

"Sounds terrible." Isabella feigned a sympathetic look.

Kagome scowled playfully. "Whatever, you don't understand."

"So, you don't think this guy, Sasuke, thinks this could be a date?"

"No, why should he?"

"Is your bodyguard going to go with you?"

"Haji goes with me everywhere." Kagome sighed.

"You don't think he will tell Sesshomaru?"

"No. Haji is not supposed to keep me in check or anything. He's there so I don't get kidnapped or whatever."

"Hm, I don't know, Kagome. I have this bad feeling."

Kagome ignored her and put on the dress and shoes. She grabbed a diamond necklace with matching earrings from her jewelry box and looked at her hair. "I loved what you've done to my hair. You haven't lost your touch." She smiled as she swung her elbow length golden brown hair with honey toned highlights. She fixed her makeup and donned her beige wool trench coat. "How do I look?"

"Like a rich snob." Isabella walked away.

Kagome grinned. "Great, that's the look I was going for."

Isabella refrained from making any further remarks and left with Kagome. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways as Kagome got into the limo. A half an hour later, she arrived at a French café on the Upper East Side. Sasuke waited inside, checking his phone and pacing back and forth.

He's nervous, she mused. She walked in and they greeted each other awkwardly by the entrance. Haji looked around as they walked to a booth and sat down. He stood guard a few feet away.

"Your hair looks…wonderful." He said as she removed her coat.

"Thanks." She said and rubbed her arm as the waiter came and took their order.

"I'm very glad that you agreed to meet with me." He said. "It's been so long and I really wanted to know what you've been up to. Our last encounter was interrupted so soon…"

"Koga…"she laughed. "He's like a big brother in a way."

"He seemed more like a boyfriend." He teased.

"He gets overprotective. He's good friends with Sesshomaru."

"Your husband, that's right." Sasuke raised his brows briefly and shook his head. "It's still difficult to get used to." When Kagome squinted at him, he waved his hands. "Not like that, you know…I just mean, everyone was so shocked when he wedded a human, we are all still shocked. It was a bold move and people had least expected it to be done by one of the purest bloods, they were the ones who had enforced the law against courting humans to begin with."

"I see." She said.

"So, you're a lawyer," he said, quickly noting her expression and changed the subject.

"Yeah," she nodded. The waiter came back with their cappuccinos. "I was offered a judiciary position."

"At your age?"

"I know!" she said excitedly. She hadn't told anyone yet and had hoped Sesshomaru would be the first to know. "I'm excited but I'm not sure that's the route I want to take. I don't really like seeing both sides of the spectrum. I like choosing my cases wisely and fighting against the opposition."

Sasuke smiled. "You're still the same. Remember debate class?"

"Oh…yeah…" she blushed as she sipped her coffee.

"Mr. Hideko hated you."

"only because he sucked as a debate teacher. I'm telling you, I could have run that class better."

"You did." Sasuke added and they both laughed. "Tell me about your daughters."

"They're nine, soon to be ten. Samara is serious like her father but sometimes I think Kimora is more like him. They both don't like to socialize and constantly hide with each other during social gatherings. Samara plays the violin very well and Kimora loves to draw. She's really good." She stopped and remembered some of the disturbing pictures she had seen shown by the headmaster. "How about your son?"

"Arahim is eleven. He started his training. He plays the piano and loves to paint. He's a little quiet, not really great with people he doesn't know. After the divorce, he became a little distant but kids will get over it, right?"

Kagome forced a grin. "Right…"

"I can't imagine what your marriage must be like. You're married to one of the busiest men in the world. Don't you ever get lonely?"

"Uh…"

"I am prying, so sorry. Sometimes I do forget we are no longer teenagers and can't ask whatever question pops into our minds."

"It's ok…"she said. "Sesshomaru's job is important."

"No doubt it is." Sasuke added. "But to have two wonderful daughters and a beautiful wife, he must weigh his time and make sure he doesn't lose that either."

Kagome wanted to cry right there but she didn't. Why didn't he do that? All it seemed he cared about was work. She shifted in her seat and took a few more sips of her coffee. "So what do you do?"

"I lead the Kurohyo tribe and work as an interpreter for the D.D.C branch in China."

They were quiet for a while and sipped their coffees. She looked around the room feeling his gaze on her. The silence ended with his chuckle. She looked at him questionably as she set her cup down.

"I am sorry to laugh but I was just thinking about how this was probably a mistake."

"What was?"

"For us to meet." He said, bluntly.

"Why?"

"Kagome, I'll just be honest. I knew this from the start but I'm still attracted to you." He said. "I also believe that maybe you were looking for something here, with me."

"But I'm married, why would you-"

"happily? I don't think so. If you were, you wouldn't have come."

"I…"she paused. She didn't know what to say. Was that what she was doing? Was she tricking herself to believe this was an innocent meeting? She was lonely and she was seeking comfort and deep down inside, she knew Sasuke could give it to her. He was there, right now, for her. "I should probably go now."

"I didn't mean to be upfront and scare you, Kagome." He inched closer and placed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I just wanted us to start over again under honest conditions, not like the past."

"The thing is…you're right." She said, feeling uncomfortable with his hand stroking her hair. "I'm looking for something. I am missing something that I am not getting but…"she grabbed his hand. "It isn't with you, Sasuke."

"How do you know for sure if you don't give it a chance?" he leaned closer and she could see he was about to kiss her. She inched away from him.

"Because I don't want to give it a chance…"she grabbed her bag and slid out of the booth. "I am so sorry, Sasuke, really. I really shouldn't have misled you." She said and walked away. She looked at Haji desperately. "Take me out of here, Haji."

Haji never questioned her and led her out the door and to the limo immediately, glancing over his shoulder at Sasuke. They got in and drove right away. She rubbed her skin, still feeling his touch on her skin. It revolted her. The touch of another man other than Sesshomaru, it wasn't right.

"Where to now, my lady?" Haji asked.

"Where do you want to go, Haji?"

"My lady?" he said, staring at her with his red eyes. "I don't understand."

"I want to go where you want to go." She said.

Haji hesitated, never having been asked that question. He didn't so much as have a day off since Kagome was pregnant. He never minded, that was his job, he knew no other lifestyle.

"I've seen you look through those magazines about fishes and aquatic animals. Want to go to an aquarium?"

Haji's eyes widened. "If that is your wish, my lady."

"Don't look so surprised, Haji. I'm not as self absorbed as you think I am. First let's go back home, I need to change into something comfortable."

Haji shot a half grin but it faded quickly yet Kagome caught it. It was the first time she'd seen him smile in a while. Last time he smiled, Kimora was showing him a trick and he couldn't figure it out. When she finally revealed it, he smiled at how trivial it was and not having figured it out sooner.

"Yes, my lady."

***************** ********************** ********************************

Kimora, Samara and Sesshomaru stood by the door and greeted everyone as they came in, after going through careful security protocols. Kimora jumped up and down when her grandfather walked in holding presents wearing a red Santa clause hat. Saya walked over to them and stood by them as everyone came in. She and Inutaisho's eyes met.

"Saya." He greeted forcefully. "Pleasure seeing you here."

"Hmph, you never knew how to lie well, did you."

"I consider that a compliment." He looked at the girls as they jumped on him with hugs.

"Is mommy with you?" Kimora asked.

"No, she isn't here yet?" Inutaisho frowned and looked at Sesshomaru.

"I sent a car to pick her up but she refused."

"She isn't coming?" Saya butted in. "How come? It's Christmas and her husband's birthday!"

"Not now, Saya." Inutaisho scolded.

"She will be coming later in the night when guests begin to leave.

"Oh, that anti-social woman!" Saya scoffed. "What is it with you both and people? It's starting to rub off on Kimora, you know."

Inutaisho led the girls away where Koga and Inuyasha joined them. Saya observed Sesshomaru and patted his blazer. "You look dazzling, as usual. What happened to your hand?"

"I cut myself."

"That isn't like you." She interrogated. "How did something like that happen?"

People entered through the door and Saya put on her fake smile act and greeted them. She completely forgot her question and went to mingle with the elders. A few kids walked in, a girl the age of his daughters with pale blonde hair walked up to him.

"Happy birthday, my lord, and happy holidays as well." She handed him a gift bag. "I am Denali Sambe with the Nekochiba tribe and this is my sister Lahira." She pointed to a smaller girl just as blonde. They smiled at him with their crystal green eyes "We were invited by Samara to sleepover tomorrow night. We are much obliged."

He nodded and they walked off. More people piled at the door, people he didn't recognize. He walked over to his mother and scowled. "Who are these people?"

"I viewed your guest list, it was small. What kind of party has fewer than ten people? I took the liberty of inviting the clan and people from the D.D.C."

"There are precautions, mother."

"Don't worry. Security is doing their job. It will be fine. Don't you go disappearing with Kimora now, this is your party!" she went back to preening with the elders. Koga and Inuyasha walked over to Sesshomaru.

"You certainly know how to throw a party." Koga snored. "What's with the classical music? I'm about to fall asleep while standing up."

Inuyasha nodded. "Seriously, let's ditch the old people and meet in the game room with the fun people. Kimmy's down for it. We didn't tell Samara though, she'd just rat us out to Satan, "Koga nudged him. "I mean Saya."

People accommodated themselves as they handed their coats to the butlers and helped themselves to the buffet table filled with expensive cheese and caviar, roasted duck, seafood pasta and an entire smorgasbord of other delectable treats. Koga helped himself to a glass of water.

"How long has it been since you had a drink, Koga?" Inuyasha grabbed a glass of wine from a passing waiter holding a tray.

"Six years next week."

"I don't know how you do it, man."

"Me neither but when you wake up in a farm country somewhere in Europe, not knowing how you got there, broke, without pants trying to find a fuckin' phone but you don't speak a word of their language…I draw the line there."

"We all have a drunken story, Koga."

"That's the thing. I got too many of them. So no thank you, I am fine with my glass of water, thank you very much."

Inuyasha patted him on the back. "You're so strong."

"I'll tell ya one thing, it fuckin' sucks being sober like ninety-nine percent of the time. People annoy you more, girls you thought were hot weren't, and week old pizzas don't taste that great."

************ ********** ****************************

Kimora thought she was safe in her room away from the crowd but a group of kids along with her sister rushing inside told her different. Some of the kids she had recognize from school, the others were clan members she vaguely remembered. One of the girls, she knew well. Denali Sambe, one of the most popular girls in Inutaisho academy. Samara idolized her and ever since she started hanging out with her, she changed. She was mean to her now, mean to their mother, and hated everything they used to do. Once in a while, Samara forgot about that and was back to her old self but then she'd remind herself not to be that way.

"This room is taken, "Kimora told them. "Find another place."

"This is my room, too." Samara spat. "We want to use the computer; Denali said she found something we should see."

"I'm busy." Kimora said as she drew in her book. She didn't look up but could tell everyone was staring at her.

"Kimora," Denali said in a sweet tone. "I do believe you'd want to see this! Just for a second, come on."

Kimora rolled her eyes. Even though she knew Denali was anything but sweet, when she used that voice, it was hard not to do what she asked. She stood up and walked over to the computer desk where they all surrounded Denali as she searched the web. "I was looking for a dress for the dance and I somehow came across this site. Look familiar?" she said and they all leaned closer.

Samara and Kimora had different features that told them apart but their expression was identical. It was a look of surprise, disgust and embarrassment. There in front of them was a picture of their mother and father posing, practically wearing nothing. Sesshomaru had his arm around Kagome's waist and the other was around her neck, his lips pressed against the nape of her neck.

"Ew." Kimora and Samara uttered in unison.

"Those are your parents?" said one boy. "Holy crap, I wish my parents looked like that. My father has a belly bigger than my mom and she's pregnant!"

"Wow, your father is super cute." Said another girl.

"What does it say?" Samara asked.

"Something about lovers and being the first human and demon celebrity couple to admit a serious relationship. There's an article here about how your grandmother was against it."

"That doesn't surprise me." Kimora mumbled under her breath. She was about to turn back but saw a picture on the screen that struck her curiousity. Denali scrolled down and continued to read when Kimora pointed to the screen.

"Wait, scroll back up. Who is that?"

Denali frowned at being interrupted but scrolled back up. "Who?"

"The girl right there, with the blue hair."

Everyone leaned closer to the screen. "It says here name is Shurran Bok-u-naaska? Wait, "Denali paused. "It says that she is your dad's wife!"

"What?" Samara and Kimora spat.

Denali grinned. "Shurran Bokunaska admitted she and Lord Sesshomaru were married and that he wasn't cheating on Kagome Higurashi with her but cheating on her with Kagome Higurashi."

"I'm lost." Said one girl.

" Oh my god, was your father married before he married your mother? That like never happens! Talk about breaking tradition. First he's married to a demon, then he marries again and a human, might I add. You poor guys, having so much scandal in your family right before you're born."

Kimora frowned. "I don't believe it. Tabloids lie; remember what they wrote about your father, Denali? Unless it's true he used to be your mother."

Denali shot up. "Watch your mouth, half breed! You would never catch up to someone of my stature! I will always be stronger, prettier and faster than you! Remember that while dirty human blood courses through your veins!"

Kimora shot forward with her hands ready to strangle but Samara stopped her. "Kimora!"

Kimora growled."Say that one more time and just you watch!"

"My, what a temper. Had you been a full demon you would know how to better control it. Besides, at least no one thinks my father to be weak and my mother to be a burden. Let's go everyone, I'm bored."

Everyone walked out and Samara stayed behind with Kimora.

"What is wrong with you? Are you trying to humiliate me?"

"What?" Kimora cried. "She is insulting mom and dad, don't you care?"

"What I care is that you and mother are bringing this family down! This family, who once struck fear amongst clans, is nothing but a joke now! I just wish you and mother would just…get out of our lives!" She said, her eyes filling with tears and at the same time she felt guilt for saying that. She stormed out of the room leaving Kimora more hurt than ever.

**************** ******************* ******************************************

Sesshomaru didn't realize he'd been looking at the clock for ten minutes straight, his eyes dry and stinging; had he blinked at all? It was nearly midnight and Kagome still wasn't here. He checked up with Haji two hours ago so he knew she was alright but she was taking long with whatever she was doing. Knowing her well, he knew she was delaying on purpose so that he'd be asleep by the time she got there to avoid any confrontation.

Lights shone through the dark living room and he walked over to the window. A limo pulled up and he saw Haji and Kagome come out of it. The girls were upstairs watching a movie with their guests. He knew Kagome was going to get angry but at this point he didn't care. He rather have had her angry than not talking to him at all. When she entered, he walked over to the door to greet her. She looked surprise and averted her gaze as she unbuttoned her coat. He ignored the pain in his chest, he ached to touch her but by her cold stare he kept his distance.

"Where are the girls?" she asked, removing her coat. She had a lot of bags in hand and clutched them tightly as she walked past him.

"Upstairs." He said, so far he was not lying. He hoped she wouldn't press on and assume that they were sleeping instead of watching a movie upstairs with fifteen other kids.

"Sleeping?" she continued and he tried to ignore her scent. He noticed her hair was different but didn't comment on it.

" Not exactly…"

"It's midnight." She stated, looking upset.

"They're on vacation." He retorted, bitterly. This is where it started; the arguing. He knew it was coming up so he turned to walk away.

"Don't make me out to be the mean one but you know it will become a habit and when school comes they're not going to go to sleep right away. Of course, you don't have to worry about that since you won't be there."

"I don't want to get into this right now. Let me show you to your room."

She bit her lip from saying anything more. There she went again, her mouth opening up before she could think twice about what she was about to say. Showing her to 'her room' felt strange and awkward and she felt like another guest of his. She wanted to cry as she followed behind him quietly. Walking behind him, not seeing his face and not being able to meet his eyes was torture. She imagined his skin on hers and his scent when she'd dig her nose into his sleeve to take his essence in. It hurt her to not be so close. When he looked over his shoulder at her, she cleared her throat and fixed another cold stare at him.

He rolled his eyes and looked away as they turned another corner. They passed his study and she could see piles of paper everywhere, including the floors. When had he turned out so messy? He was always so organized and neat. There was a wide red carpeted staircase ahead of them, a few guards stood serious and statuesque beside both banisters.

"Can I take your bags?" he asked her, but she shook her head.

"No, I'm fine." She replied sharply. Noticing that her tone was not necessary, she added "Thank you."

They started up the steps and didn't say another word until they reached the next floor. Kagome looked around, overwhelmed by how large the place was. The manor she and the girls lived in was bigger than a three family house but it still held a personal feel to it. This place felt like a hotel.

"Since the girls are awake, I thought I'd say goodnight to them."

"I'm sure you can speak to them tomorrow morning." He said, his expression indifferent but he knew she would question him. He really didn't want to get into another argument as soon as she saw all the kids piled up in the media room eating things they shouldn't be eating.

"I know I can speak to them tomorrow morning but I want to say goodnight to them." She stopped and he sighed. "You're not telling me something." She could hear kids giggling down the hallway.

He stopped and turned to her. Her gaze moved from the door at the end of the hallway to his eyes. His muscles tensed and she knew he was preparing for another argument. Inside, she was furious. He had let Samara have her sleepover. Unbelievable! Always wanting to look like the good parent that lets them do what they want. She fumed quietly and looked away from him. It was late and arguing she didn't want to do.

"I guess I will wait until tomorrow." She said. He stared at her for a moment, looking like he wanted to say something but thought twice and turned around. She followed him to her room and he opened the door. She was right behind him when he stopped and turned around and she bumped right into him.

He grabbed her arms and she couldn't breathe. There was electricity running through her body as his soft warm hands touched her arms. He hadn't looked calm himself and she could see his arms shaking slightly. He wanted to take this opportunity to kiss her, to pull her into a tight embrace and never let go but she had released herself from his grasp.

"Will you be needing anything?" he cleared his throat.

"No…"she said. He could hear her voice wavering. "I am fine, thank you. I'm just…r-really tired. Good night." She closed the door right away and he stood frozen outside of it, with his teeth clenched. He felt himself jerk as he went to grab the doorknob but stopped. He heard a whimper and knew she was crying. He didn't know what to do and walked away before he could do something that would only upset her more.

Kagome covered her mouth as she leaned against the door, sobbing into her hand. Her body shook as she walked over to the bed and dropped herself onto it. She felt cold as she curled into fetal position and grabbed a pillow to cry into it. She wanted him to hold her right now, kiss her and make the pain go away. She didn't know how long she had cried for but she had cried herself to sleep.

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~*Please review~*


	5. Chapter 5

_***Warning********MATURE CONTENT, BE ADVISED. READ ON IF YOU ARE ABOVE SEVENTEEN OR HAVE PERMISSION BY A PARENT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. (I TRIED TO KEEP IT AS CLEAN AS POSSIBLE. HEHEHEEHE)_

Chapter 5

Kimora woke up with someone's foot in her face. Grimacing, she saw it was Denali's and grabbed the foot and threw it off of her. Denali, grunting her sleep, turned over and put her foot over another girl's face. Kimora sat up and looked around her, kids slept all over on mountains of pillows and blankets. Samara was next to Kimora, still sleeping like a log. There was a sweet smell in the air and Kimora's mouth watered. It smelled like Chocolate banana cream pancakes.

'Mom's here!' she thought and jumped to her feet and was out the door. She didn't care for the people she had stepped on to get there or the groaning that sounded as they all woke up. She ran down the hallway and passed a guard.

"Where is my mom?" she said, excitedly.

"In the kitchen, Miss Kimora."

Kimora ran, slipped a few times as she turned corners and finally made it to the kitchen. It was like old times, she thought. Sesshomaru sat at the end of the table, looking through his laptop and drinking coffee. Kagome flipped a pancake on the pan and looked over her shoulder with a smile.

"Mom!" Kimora ran, her little fangs glittering in her smile. Kagome grunted as Kimora lunged into her grabbing her tightly.

"Hey! Merry Christmas." Kagome bent down and kissed her cheek. "Okay, Kimora, Mommy can't breathe."

"You did your hair! I thought only Isabella does your hair."

"She did, she is in town."

"Oooh, can she dye my hair purple?"

"No," Kagome chuckled. "Go sit down. I'm almost done cooking."

Kimora giggled and ran to her father and kissed his cheek. He looked up from his laptop with a half smirk as she sat beside him.

"You're making chocolate banana cream pancakes?" she shook in her chair with anticipation. One would wonder what Kagome put in her pancakes; crack?

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kagome smiled, her back facing Kimora.

"When did you come?"

"Last night."

"How long are you staying for?" she asked and Sesshomaru looked at Kagome.

"Only today…"she said. She didn't look back but she could feel Kimora's disappointment.

"but it's Christmas!"

Kagome opened her mouth to speak but a few kids piled into the kitchen. They all sniffed to the table and sat around the table. The mahogany oaked table could seat twenty people comfortable and Kagome's eyes widened at how many kids looked at her with hungry eyes. 'I'm going to be here a while', she sighed as she cracked a few more eggs into the bowl.

"Wow! Something smells so great!" Tobias said. Tobias was a fox demon from Eastern Europe. Kagome hadn't seen him since he came to Kimora and Samara's fifth birthday. "Lady Kagome, what are you making?"

"Only the best pancakes ever!" Kimora interjected. "Only the worthy can have it!"

"Worthy?" Tobias cried. "How does one become worthy?"

"Well, your name has to be Kimora." She teased and Kagome scowled over her shoulder. "I'm just kidding."

A few other kids walked in including Denali and Samara. Samara's eyes beamed when she saw her mother by the stove and had opened her mouth in excitement. Kagome looked at her and she smiled and started to run over but caught Denali's snarl. Samara stopped and stood by Denali.

"Hello, mother." Samara cleared her throat and stood in the doorway.

"I'm making your favorite." Kagome said, ignoring the way she said 'mother.'

"I'm not eating whatever she is cooking." Denali muttered under her breath where only Samara heard. She walked away from the kitchen.

Samara's stomach grumbled but she looked at Denali as she walked away. She looked at all the kids around the table and bowed her head. "I am not hungry."

Samara met Kimora's eyes and her father's and walked away.

All of the kids talked over each other loudly and laughed obnoxiously. Sesshomaru couldn't focus and closed his laptop. Kagome set pancakes on the table and ignored the little boy who gawked at her ever since he came into the kitchen. The kids who haven't met her before introduced themselves formally.

"My name is Lahira, Lady Kagome. I am glad to have met you." She smiled and looked at the pancakes with wide eyes.

"Harrington from the Nekochiba tribe, "one boy had said through a full mouth of pancake. "This is so good."

The boy who had been gawking at her the entire time introduced himself as Gareth. He was a member of a snake tribe in England. He idolized Sesshomaru since he can remember and had a crush on Kagome since he can remember. He had only seen her in pictures before but seeing her now, even in a white t-shirt and sweats, she was more beautiful than he could have imagined.

"My lady, a pleasure." He rose from his seat and took her hand and kissed it. She forced a smile and looked at Sesshomaru. "You have a beautiful wife, Lord Sesshomaru." The little boy spoke with an air of maturity and Sesshomaru didn't know whether to be flattered or intimidated. He sipped his coffee and stared at the kid.

"Thank you, Gareth."

Kagome, wanting to laugh, walked back to the counter and grabbed more pancakes. She put a few in a Tupperware and set it aside. She knew Samara would want some later. She poured a cup of coffee and refilled Sesshomaru's cup out of habit. She stopped and he looked at her with a surprised expression as well.

"Thank you." He said and she walked away. Kimora smiled as she ate her pancakes and observed her parents. Samara didn't see it; she was too stubborn to see it just like them. Kimora saw the love as if it shone colors around the room, glowing brightly. It was so apparent that it frustrated her.

Later on, after the kids left, Kimora and Samara opened their presents and squealed in excitement. Samara had gotten a new violin and a couple of dresses she had wanted. Since the other kids of the clan left, Samara returned to her normal self. She laughed and played around with Kimora and asked Kagome if there were any pancakes left over. Sesshomaru and Kagome sat in the same sofa very far apart as they watched the girls unwrap their presents.

"Daddy, these are you. One is for your birthday and one is for Christmas." She handed him a bag. He opened it and pulled out a bottle of cologne and a framed drawing of his wedding picture with Kagome. The drawing was almost accurate and far too advanced for that of a nine year old. There were minor flaws to it but other than that it was a perfect replica of the original. He smelled the cologne and looked at the bottle but there was no label.

"I made the cologne myself in science class. I know how much you like the smell of mom's vanilla shampoo so I added vanilla extract along with other oils so now you can smell her all the time while you're here!" she smiled innocently. She didn't know how completely torturous this gift was. Kagome craned her neck and looked at the picture.

"Very nice, Kimora."

"I can't really do the hands yet and the noses look weird." She added sadly.

"No, you got it right. Your dad's nose looks exactly like that." She teased.

Sesshomaru looked at the picture again and noticed the crooked nose in the picture and glared at Kagome.

Samara grabbed a box and handed it to her mother. Kagome looked surprised as she grabbed it and smiled.

"For me?" she said and looked at everyone else as she opened it. It was a CD of Kagome's favorite songs but instrumental versions played by Samara. "You made instrumental versions of these songs?"

Samara nodded modestly. "I could not do one of Vivaldi's pieces. It was too fast and I kept messing it up but I'm working on it."

"Thank you…" Kagome said through teary eyes. Kimora had given her gift; it was a golden ceramic vase with origami flowers she had made in class. It became quiet and Kagome cleared her throat. She turned to her side to grab a bag, Sesshomaru doing the same and they both turned to each other at the same time holding out a bag. The girls laughed and Kagome's face turned red. She grabbed his bag with a smile and he took hers, both unwrapping the box inside.

Kagome's eyes widened at the beautiful 70 carat diamond necklace. Kimora and Samara were entranced by its sparkle. Sesshomaru opened his and he almost dropped the box as he grabbed the watch. It was a rare vintage Rolex he had been searching for almost two years. Only a few were made and he had owned one a couple of years back but it was destroyed when his car had been run off a bridge with him in it. How the hell did Kagome find it? Looking at her, she could tell he was surprised and didn't want to tell him what she had gone through to get it.

"I know a guy who knows a guy." She shrugged with a grin and looked at the girls. He opened his mouth to thank her but she stood up. "I should go. It is getting late."

The girls groaned.

"No!" Kimora cried. "Why can't you stay? Christmas isn't over."

"It is still early, mom. We can watch a play or go to Carnegie Hall, I hear Vanessa Mae is playing this weekend and we could eat at Adalberto's afterward." Samara suggested, trying to hide her pleading tone. Adalberto's was an Italian restaurant by the river that they loved going to before and would go almost every other weekend.

Kagome met Sesshomaru's eyes and he nodded. In some way, Kagome felt she would be staying longer than one night and was glad to have packed a couple of outfits just in case. It could be that she knew the girls wouldn't let her go home.

"Alright…just for the weekend." She sighed playfully and the girls ran to their rooms to change.

"Is it alright that I stay?" she asked Sesshomaru as he stood up from the sofa.

"Yes. Why wouldn't it be?"

"I just…" she stopped. She promised herself, today she wouldn't argue. "I just wanted to make sure." She turned to leave.

"Kagome…" he said, his voice descending into a whisper. She gulped it in, afraid she would cry again.

"Yes?" she turned around and faced him.

"Thank you…for the gift."

"Oh…"she tittered. "Thank you as well. Um…I guess I'll go change now." She walked out fast before she would say or do something she'd regret.

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Kimora, Samara and Sesshomaru waited downstairs for Kagome. They were used to this, her taking so long to get dressed. When she came down the stairs, one could see all that time spent was worth it. She looked amazing in a black fitted dress that ended at her knees, her brown hair in long waves donning the necklace Sesshomaru had just given her. Kimora looked at her father's wrist and saw that he too, wore the watch Kagome had just given him.

Samara took in her mother's beauty. She thought she was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. If her mother had been a demon, she would have been perfect, she thought. If she would have been a demon, everyone would respect her and love her as much as she did. She would be accepted and no one would say ill things of her. Samara snuck a look at her father and he had seemed enchanted by her mother. His amber eyes shined brightly as he watched her come down the steps meticulously studying her.

"Sorry I took long." She held her coat in her hand and met Sesshomaru's eyes briefly. The look in his eyes made her smile and she looked at the girls. "You guys ready to go?"

"Yes." They gleamed and grabbed her hand as they walked out; many guards followed and escorted them to the limo. Two men walked around the limo with bomb detectors and scanned the entire thing. They nodded and walked off as Sesshomaru and Kagome entered the car, the girls following behind them.

Kagome had wanted to remark on how many guards there were but decided to stay quiet. Haji, Remy and Cado sat at the end of the limo. Kimora and Samara chatted away about school and their gifts during the whole ride. Everyone else was quiet as they listened to the girls prattle away.

After the play, they all went to Adalberto's. Despite the two hour wait, they were seated right away. The owner, Adalberto Perrotto walked over to them and welcomed them.

"Well if it isn't my favorite famiglia." He smiled and grabbed Kagome's hand. "My lady, you are looking glamorous, as always." He kissed her hand and looked at the girls. "Your girls are looking more like you as they get older, how long has it been, almost two years."

"Yes," Kagome nodded. Sesshomaru tried to ignore the biting jealousy as Adalberto held Kagome's hand. He knew Adalberto wouldn't do something so disrespectful as to flirt with Kagome but he was jealous that he was able to hold her hand, if only for that transient time.

"Lord Sesshomaru." Adalberto shook his hand. "It is great to see you again. Congratulations on Siberia."

Sesshomaru nodded and Adalberto left. Kagome looked at Sesshomaru as the girls looked through the menu.

"What happened in Siberia?" she asked in a low voice.

"The D.D C rescue team successfully brought in hanyou refugees from a military bunker in Siberia. The demon troops holding them captive are now in our custody."

"That's great." She smiled and looked at his wrist. He was wearing the watch she had given him.

He shrugged and grabbed his wine that Adalberto had complimentarily given. Kagome sipped hers and they were quiet.

"Can we have Tiramisu after?" Kimora and Samara asked at the same time.

"No." Kagome said. "You already had enough sweets."

"But we haven't been here in so long. How can we come here and not have Tiramisu?" Samara added.

Kagome sighed. "Fine, but no more sweets after this."

Sesshomaru smirked. "It is not so easy saying no, is it?"

"They're getting better at convincing." Kagome shook her head.

"I heard you won the Malden vs. Steinberg case." Sesshomaru said. "That was a very complicated case. Congratulations."

"You heard?" Kagome felt her heart beat fast. "Thanks…"

"Yes. Judge Hawthins was impressed and offered you the position but I suppose you aren't going to take it anyway."

"No." she sighed. He knew her too well. "Have you been spying on me?"

Sesshomaru half grinned and sipped his wine. "No."

"Liar."

"I have not." He said, sternly. She continued to eye him suspiciously and he still shook his head. He set his glass down and smoothed his blazer with his hand. "I ran into Hawthins during a meeting at the supreme court. I have a hearing to attend next week and she revealed the status of your case to me."

"Oh." She said, disappointedly. She had thought he was checking up on her but he had only found out accidently. "Yes, well, I don't belong in front of the courtroom, sitting down the entire time."

Sesshomaru watched her as she sipped her wine and nodded. He saw the disappointed look she had when he told her Judge Hawthin had told him about her case. It wasn't that he didn't check up on her because he did, most of the time but he didn't want her to feel her privacy was being invaded so he had given her her space.

When they arrived back home, it was almost ten at night and the girls were already drifting in and out of sleep. After their baths, Kagome and Sesshomaru put them to bed. Sesshomaru went to his study to organize papers and do some quick research and Kagome had taken a long shower.

Mudama walked in, setting a pile of envelopes on Sesshomaru's desk. He bowed and walked out of the study. Sesshomaru stared exhaustedly at the pile and ran his hand through his hair. He was about to leave it to view tomorrow but one envelope stood out from the rest of the plain white envelopes. It was green and had a sticker of Santa Clause on it. He pulled the envelope out from between the others and opened it. There were large eight by ten photos. At first he was perplexed, the first few photos showed a French café and a man he did not know getting out of a limo. The next few photos made his heart drop and there was a sharp pain that replaced it. It was of Kagome and this man sitting at a table, very close to each other. The next few photos showed the man with his hand on Kagome's face. His fingers trembled and he set the photos calmly on his desk.

Kagome entered the study at that time with a soft knock on the door. She was in her nightgown, her hair wet and fresh from the shower.

"Can we talk?" she said.

He didn't look at her yet and controlled his breathing. Forcing himself to calm down, he nodded and she closed the door to the study. He still couldn't meet her eyes and walked toward the window.

"What is it you wish to talk about?" he said, his voice calm and devoid of any emotion.

"Well, I know this isn't the great time to bring this up but I am leaving tomorrow and since I am here, I thought we should discuss the papers."

He closed his eyes, his heart pounded and he balled his hands into fists. Shaking again, he tried to calm down before he could face her.

"What is there to discuss?"

"I wanted to discuss when exactly we should tell the girls and custody arrangements. I figured maybe we can keep them out of the picture and just have open custody, so you can take them whenever you want." She said. She felt nervous not being able to see his expression but he didn't look away from the window. She looked around the study, the fire crackled in the fireplace. It was extremely quiet in the room; she couldn't even hear the security outside or the sounds outside. Knowing Sesshomaru and his job, this room was probably soundproof.

She slowly walked over to him, wondering why he was not responding. She stopped, feeling a negative aura coming from him. She knew he was upset but she felt something else, a very strong rage. Ever since the girls were born, Kagome was very sensitive to people's emotions, sometimes, and could feel subtle things like when they were nervous, sad, or angry. It helped her a lot in the courtroom.

She sighed. "Eventually we have to talk about this; I don't know why you keep avoiding it."

He turned around, his bright amber eyes rimmed with redness. His breaths were unsteady and he fumed at the nose as he walked toward her.

"What is it that I am doing wrong?" She was surprised to hear how shaken his voice was, watching the muscles in his neck as he swallowed his control.

"I…" she stepped back. "I just…"

"Why can't you see what I am doing for you and the twins, what I am sacrificing?"

Kagome's lips trembled. "You mean your respect? The fact that you're ashamed to be around us!"

"What are you talking about?" he shouted. "You don't even know what is going on!"

"Because you won't tell me!" she shouted back, tears already falling down her cheek. "You are hiding something!"

"With good reason!" he growled and backed her into a wall. "There are things that you should not know! It is better this way. You knew this before we got married; you knew what you were getting into!"

"I didn't know it would be this hard!" she cried. "I can't. I tried! I put up with it for ten years! The past two years it had gotten worse! There would come times when I didn't see you for a month! How is that fair to me and the girls?"

"You think it is fair for me? That I prefer it this way?" a sarcastic chuckle escaped his lips as he walked over to the desk and grabbed the photos. Kagome stood by the corner, confused and not sure what to do. He walked back to her. "Is that all it takes for you to give up and seek it somewhere else?" he raised a photo of her with Sasuke stroking her hair. She gasped and met his eyes shamefully and looked away. "That is you in the picture, isn't it?"

She gazed at the fireplace not knowing what to say. When she didn't look at him or answer, he punched the wall beside her. "Isn't it!"

"That picture…"she started. "It isn't…"

"It is exactly what it looks like!" he shouted and she was startled by his tone that she flinched.

"Why would you do this?" his voice wavered and she could hear the hurt in his tone.

"I didn't do anything!" she finally mustered enough courage and pushed him. "You don't know anything! Nothing happened! You out of all people should know that a picture does not tell everything!"

His jaw tightened as he refrained any further comments. She was right. He knew better than to jump to conclusions but he couldn't help it. The photos looked way too convincing to think otherwise but Kagome had gone through the same thing years ago when the tabloids released a picture of him and Shurran in what looked like an embrace and nothing had happened. He threw the pictures on the floor and walked to the window.

Kagome didn't want this, she thought. She didn't want anyone else but it was so hard to deal with being with someone she hardly saw. She felt helpless as she walked over to the couch by the fireplace and sat down.

"The man in the picture, his name is Sasuke…"she said in a whisper. Sesshomaru felt his claws digging into his fingers but he forced himself to hear it. He needed to hear it, even if she was about to admit that she had done something with this man. "He's my ex from high school."

Sesshomaru slightly remembered a few things that Kagome had told him about her ex. He was the reason she was kicked out of her house and had suffered emotionally being shunned by her family.

"I was waiting for Koga and I ran into him." She felt embarrassed for what she was about to say. "We exchanged numbers and he asked me to meet him for coffee. I won't lie and say that my intention was innocent. You and I haven't spoken much and I think I just liked the attention or the way he looked at me."

Sesshomaru couldn't bare to listen anymore but he waited patiently for her to finish. She stood up and walked to the fireplace and brushed her fingers along the mantle. He looked back at her when he noticed she was quiet. His eyes fixed on her silk nightgown that outlined her figure.

"I knew then that it was that which I was missing but when he touched me like he did in the picture, it didn't feel…right. So I left right after and haven't seen him since. Nothing happened between us. You can ask Haji if you do not believe me."

Sesshomaru felt himself become at ease but he still imagined more happening. But he believed her so he ignored the mental images.

"I don't know what to do." She said and he walked closer to her, grabbing the sides of her arms softly. Her skin prickled with goose bumps and she turned around and looked up at him. His eyes reflected the fire blazing behind her and he leaned in to kiss her. "Don't…" she said and he lifted her chin. "Don't make things so complicated."

"Then tell me honestly that you do not want me to."

She looked into his eyes and opened her mouth but she couldn't say it. His hands on her skin were warm and inviting and she didn't want that to go away. He gripped her neck and came close to her lips, his warm lips touching them softly. She felt a spark ignite inside her when his lips touched hers. Her lips parted inviting his tongue and their kiss became stronger and harder. Their breathing became heavy and his hands played through her hair as they kissed. His other hand rested on her bare thigh and moved its way up and she felt herself become hot with arousal. Her hands went under his shirt and she could feel his abs and chest, they caressed its way toward his back and she dug her nails into it. Sensing her arousal, he suddenly became very aroused and pressed his hips against hers. She knew she should stop. She had to, this was going to be a mistake but feeling his hardened phallus against her thigh sent her hormones exploding in all directions. She wanted him and he definitely wanted her. He broke away from their kiss and his lips trailed down to her breast as he removed a strap of her nightgown. His lips found her naked breast and took it in and she moaned. She ached between her thighs and he lifted her up and carried her to his desk. Picture frames and pencils fell off the desk as he placed her on it. She removed his shirt and he pulled up her nightgown. He kissed her again as she unbuttoned his pants. Feeling her hands on his erection caused him to stifle a moan into her mouth. How long he hadn't felt those hands. He couldn't wait. It felt like a dream and he wanted to continue faster before he would wake up. He pulled down her underwear and spread her legs apart, pulling her closer.

Her body shook with anticipation, her heart pounded hard against her chest in lust waiting to feel him inside her. She kissed him again and bit his lip. He winced into a moan that turned into a growl. He pushed her back and pulled her closer to where she felt his erection near her core; teasing and she did not like this. He smirked and enjoyed watching her lust for him. He caressed her thigh and thrusted himself into her, catching her by surprise that a loud moan escaped her mouth. She slapped her mouth shut and continued to moan as he grinded in and out. There was a euphoric feeling coursing through her veins and she couldn't believe how she had forgotten how good this felt. Remembering the room was soundproof, she allowed herself to moan freely. Papers crumbled beneath her, folders and paper weights fell off the desk as he pushed into her. Her moans drove him wilder and he dug his nails into her thigh. He didn't want it to be over but he could feel her climax coming soon which was good because so was his. Months of no sex had their endurances shortened but at least it was mutual. He held out until she reached her peak first and he released himself, grunting and trying to suppress how powerful and great his climax had felt.

The whole world seemed to be off his shoulders at that moment and his muscles had not felt so relaxed in a while. Kagome licked her lips, peeling strands of her wet hair off her face. But despite their muscles being relaxed, Sesshomaru found that he could still go longer and as he continued to thrust, Kagome could see that it was not done. A smile escaped her lips as he lifted her off the desk and they both dropped to the floor into another make out session as Kagome mounted him. How could they let something like this go? He wasn't about to do that and she was beginning to have second thoughts, having a strong reminder drilling into her, so to speak, of what she was about to lose.

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She woke the next day in a large four poster bed with velvet drapes all around. This wasn't her room and she remembered she followed Sesshomaru last night to his room. She had expected to be in the bed alone and was surprised to see him asleep when she turned over. He looked peaceful and beautiful as he slept. She watched him for a few minutes and frowned when a scar on his shoulder caught her attention. Where did he get that? She looked closely and wondered what kind of scar it would be but she pondered how much it looked like a bullet wound. It couldn't be. His job was dangerous but he wasn't a field man. She didn't put much thought into it and wondered what she should do, curl up next to him or leave. Before she could choose, his arms wrapped around her stomach and pulled her close. He buried his face into her hair and found her neck and kissed it. She was still dreaming, she thought. It was like nothing had ever happened. The arguments, the lonely nights of sleeping in a cold bed, wondering for days where he was, seemed like the dream.

"So…what do we do now?" she finally said. Someone had to burst the dream bubble. "Because, as exciting as having an affair with my own husband can be, it isn't what I want."

Sesshomaru was quiet, contemplating as he absorbed the scent of her hair. "What is it you want me to do? Quit the D.D.C?"

She frowned. She knew he couldn't do that and she didn't want him to do that. He was good at his job and an excellent leader. Everyone respected him and he had achieved a lot since his father had stepped down.

"No…."she sighed. "Why can't we just live here with you?"

"You wouldn't want that."

"If I didn't, I wouldn't suggest it or maybe it's you that don't want us here?" she broke free from his grasp and looked at him.

"You know I would want that more than anything but you don't even know what goes on here. The fourth floor is an infirmary; a lot of our wounded comes here when the hospital at HQ is full. I have meetings with people all around the world here. I have strangers walking around and to have you, Samara and Kimora open and vulnerable-"

"With all the guards you have here? Someone would be really stupid. Cado once shot at a little boy for running at Kimora with a toy gun."

"You think you would be happy living on this island, around all this chaos. Samara and Kimora would have to be homeschooled and you would have to transfer here."

Kagome sighed. She knew he was right. They'd lose a chance at a normal life outside of the D.D.C. She didn't mind having to transfer out of her job but Samara and Kimora would not see their friends.

"Then why don't you come back to live with us?"

"because…I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" Kagome cried. "What's stopping you?"

Sesshomaru rubbed the bridge of his nose and sat up. He didn't want to lose her again to this nonsense but he needed to make sure she understood but he didn't want to tell her what had been happening. When her emotions got the best of her, things became hectic. But she wouldn't let this go and if he pushed her away again, he knew he would ruin his chances at reconciling their marriage.

"Naraku is dead, Kagome."

Kagome was quiet and her eyes widened. She had not expected to hear that. She searched his eyes and knew there was more.

"For the past few months, we have been receiving threats. This is normal at the D.D.C but usually it is targeted toward the branch but lately, it has been targeted toward me. Two months ago, I had to go to Austria to settle a dispute between two sides and was followed on my way back home with the Vice President of the D.D.C. He was killed and so was the driver."

Kagome looked at his scar and started to cry. "They shot you?"

He looked at his shoulder and nodded. "Work is getting closer and closer to home. I did not want to leave you and the twins but I saw no other choice."

"Then leave the D.D.C."

"Kagome…"

"No, you asked if you should leave it and I am telling you that you should! I rather have it that you look like you've given up on everyone than have you dead."

"We are working day and night to find out who is behind this. We will find them."

"But it has been already been going on this long. They trying to back you into a corner, making sure you are alone. They are trying to scare you by using us as bait."

Well, it was working, he thought but he wasn't going to admit that.

"Please leave, I'm begging you."

"Just be patient." He said, taking her in his arms and calming her down. She was shaking and now images of getting a phone call saying he was dead frightened her.

"How much longer?"

"I don't know."

"No, wrong answer."

"I cannot tell you without lying."

"Then lie!" she said.

He sighed. "Soon."

It was the truth. He would try harder. Whatever it took, he would not let whoever it was take his family away from him.

************ ************************** **************************

Kagome's lips had been swollen from kissing Sesshomaru for hours before she left. She said goodbye to the girls and went back home in the Upper East Side. She called Isabella and they both met at a diner for lunch an hour later.

"So, how was it?" Isabella asked, eating a ridiculously large burger.

Kagome was smiling as she forked her salad around. "We slept together."

"What?" Isabella dropped her burger. "Kagome, how could you?"

"I-what? I mean…I had slept over and I stayed longer than I should have but…it just happened. We were arguing and things were heated and…like I said, it just happened."

"Arguing, over what? What could you two possibly have anything to argue about?"

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked. "What do you mean what do we have to argue about? I told you the situation."

"But you are still married, Kagome."Isabella scolded, her Italian accent accentuating her disapproval.

"What?" Kagome started laughing. "Are we talking about the same thing here?"

"You slept with Sasuke."

"Ew, no!" Kagome spat and looked at Isabella like she was nuts.

"Who are you-oh…wait, what? Ok, let's start over."

Kagome sighed. "Sesshomaru. I slept with Sesshomaru, my husband."

"But…what about the divorce?"

"I know, I know…it truly was dumb of me to do but I just didn't know what to do, you know? I was mad and frustrated and perhaps I was just trying to get his attention. But the love, Isabella, oh my god, the love is still there and I won't even get into the details about the sex,"

Isabella sipped her soda and smiled. "Please don't. I thought you were talking about Sasuke. The last time I saw you, you went on a date with him."

"Okay, one…I told you, it was not a date. Two, how could you have thought I slept with him!"

"I don't know. When I asked how it was, I was referring to the date."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "It was not a date."

"Sorry…but ok, what happened anyway?"

"Well, you were right. He thought the meeting was more than just a friendly meeting."

Isabella smirked through a full mouth. "I told you. You are buying my burger, principessa."

"Whatever, ok, you were right. Anyway, he made a move on me but it felt wrong. I was not attracted to him and I was thinking about Sesshomaru the whole time."

"So, you slept with your husband." Isabella laughed.

"Yes."

"So things will go back to normal then, he will move back with you?"

"No."

"I'm confused." Isabella gulped down her burger. "Everything is ok but he is not moving back with you?"

"It's complicated."

"You both were always so weird but I am glad you fixed your problem. I would hate to see the eh…infamous lovers break up."

Haji stood by the door looking around. Everyone noticed him and other guards around scanning the area and this made people uncomfortable, including Isabella.

"Doesn't having the guards around all the time not make you nervous?"

"No, why should it?"

"It feels like something bad is going to happen. They look so…scary."

"I guess they have to look like that." Kagome shrugged. She did notice people looking at Haji and the other guards warily. "Maybe we should get the check. That lady over there has not touched her salad since it arrived."

She and Isabella laughed as they wrapped it up and parted ways a bit after. When Kagome arrived at home, the sun was setting. She looked out into Central Park from her balcony and sighed. She wished she could have stayed longer with the girls and Sesshomaru but she had to get back to work soon. She looked through a few cases seeing which one she should take next as she watched television in the living room. Haji and another guard Hiro were eating in the next room.

While she looked through files, Sesshomaru's words popped into her mind. 'Naraku is dead, Kagome.' She still couldn't believe it. Someone killed Naraku. She wasn't really fond of Naraku but he was Sesshomaru's business partner and school mate for most of his life, surely Sesshomaru was affected by this. Naraku was a womanizer and he gambled so she hated when he was in town and Sesshomaru would meet him. She knew Naraku would drag him to swanky places like strip bars and casinos. Sesshomaru never lied about it but sometimes she would argue with him about the situation. He would state that he wouldn't even look at girls like that, that had no respect for their bodies but still, Kagome was not convinced.

"And what if I went to a strip bar where men undressed in front of me and grinded their private parts on me. How would you feel?" she had argued.

Sesshomaru said nothing but he didn't go to another strip bar with Naraku since. But now, Naraku was dead, murdered in fact, and it was linked to Sesshomaru which meant, eventually, the danger would meet him face to face in no time. She couldn't concentrate and decided to watch television. She prayed that somehow this would be over and she would wake up the next day with Sesshomaru beside her.

***************** ********************** **********************

*~Please review~*


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Family dinners weren't always so awkward but when their grandmother was at the table, it was. Kimora sat beside Samara who looked depressed for some odd reason. Their grandfather sat across from them listening to something their grandmother had gone on about for the past ten minutes. Kimora wondered if he was absorbing or ignoring what their grandmother had been saying. The way he nodded and drank his wine, dismissing each word with a smile, it looked like he was ignoring.

Sesshomaru walked in, looking very casual than usual in jeans and a black buttoned down shirt that was left unbuttoned at the collar. He sat at the head of the table, meeting his father's eyes with a drop of sympathy for having to hear his mother ramble on.

"I am just saying that the girls are almost ten years old." Saya stopped and looked at Sesshomaru. "When are you and Kagome going to bare a son? You do realize if you don't have one, our royal line ends here? Our line of pure blood has already been diluted and now we will also lose our place in the throne."

She always knew how to strike up an interesting conversation during dinner. Sesshomaru flipped open a napkin and set it on his lap. His phone buzzed in his pockets every other minute. When no one answered, Saya sighed.

"It looks like no one cares but I do." She sipped her wine and smiled at the girls. "You girls will just have to marry into a very strong clan."

Kimora frowned. "I'm not getting married."

Saya and Samara both turned to her, mouths agape. Sesshomaru and his father grinned lightly and looked at their plates.

"What do you mean you're not getting married?" Saya spat. "You have to."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, _you do_. How else are you going to survive? Every demon woman must get married and to have children out of wedlock, don't speak of such blasphemy."

Kimora looked at everyone around the table. "I'm not having kids either."

Saya gasped and looked at Sesshomaru. "You see? You see what hanging around humans do?"

"Oh, Saya…will you stop?" Inutaisho let out a frustrated sigh.

Sesshomaru ignored them as he always did and looked through his phone to check updates in his emails. His new secretary continued to make mistakes and sent him a few spam letters. He had to return to work in a few days but it looked like he had to go to his office in the morning again to get more documents. He had to have been missing something, something that was probably right under his eyes and went unnoticed. How could he not know who was after him for nearly a year? At least things were better with Kagome, he thought. She was now within his grasp as opposed to dangling from his finger tips like before. Hopefully now she would stop with the whole divorce threat.

Things would be back to normal soon. He could be with Kagome and the girls again and not have to worry about this nuisance. People were always after him but he knew pretty well who they were and where they were but this one person or group of them, he had no idea. They managed to get Naraku but that wasn't much of a surprise seeing that he had not gotten his guards to watch over him. With the amount of security he had, no one would dare get to his family but he chose not to underestimate this person.

"Is it possible for you not to look in your phone throughout the course of dinner, Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru looked up from his phone at his mother and set it down to shut her up but it buzzed again. She looked at him impatiently, waiting for him to pick up his phone but he reached out to silence it and ate dinner quietly. It was probably a meaningless text or email from his secretary.

. . . . . .

Kagome strolled confidently down the hallway to her office, smiling and greeting everyone and taking sips of her coffee. Haji and another guard walked a couple of feet behind her. Her secretary Yura looked up from her computer and squinted.

"You're unusually happy." She said and followed her inside the office with a pile of folders.

"Am I not allowed to be?" Kagome said as she sat down, taking little sips of coffee between her smiles.

Yura contained a devilish smirk and blushed. She walked over to the window and opened the blinds. "I recognize that smile."

"Can we drop my smile and focus. What do you have for me today?"

Yura sighed. "You're no fun."

"You know, most people would be fired after a comment like that to their boss."

"Oh, stop. You would probably pull out your hair if I were gone." She dropped the stack of folders on Kagome's desk and smirked at Haji. "Hi, Haji."

Haji nodded with his hands folded in front of him. He stood next to the doorway, expressionless. People were used to Kagome's guards by now that they were often unnoticed. Everyone in the office was informed that they were not allowed to talk to her guards but Yura didn't care. She had a thing for Haji since she first set eyes on him.

"These flowers also came in for you." She tried to hand them to Kagome but Haji snatched them from her. He studied them, ripping a few of the petals and sniffing it. Yura gaped at him as he handed the flowers back to her. She faltered before looking at Kagome and handing it to her. "Well…they _were_ flowers."

Kagome smiled and smelled the flowers. "Who are they from?"

Yura pulled a note out of her pocket and was about to hand it to her but Haji snatched it again.

"Jesus, Haji, it is possible for something to be just what it is and nothing more." Yura growled. After studying it, he gave it to Yura and she handed it to Kagome.

"It's just precaution, Yura. You know the drill." Kagome smiled. She was no longer affected by this but it was annoying in the beginning. She opened the letter and cocked a brow.

_Kagome, I am sorry about the other day. Let's try again.-S_

The thought of Sesshomaru giving her flowers passed her mind for a second before she realized flowers weren't really his thing.

"I wonder who-oh, I know who wrote this." She said, throwing the letter on her desk. Yura's eyes glittered for gossip and anticipated for Kagome to mention who it was. "It's not important, Yura, so stop looking at me. What are the updates?"

"Oh come on, you know I live for the drama in your life. Please tell me, is it that guy from your past, that model guy, Shinji?"

This was the price she paid for hiring her college friend. Shinji? Her mind flooded with memories from her past, things she had not thought about since she and Sesshomaru got back together. She never spoke to Shinji since that time. When she had done modeling throughout college, she saw him in the studio but he wouldn't talk to her. It was juvenile but she understood and respected his decision not to talk to him. Sesshomaru was happy that she didn't speak to him.

"Fine, don't tell me." Yura broke her out of her daze. "Anyway, your mother in law called saying something about doing brunch this Saturday."

"No way, what's next?" Kagome waved her to get to the other updates. Brunch with Saya? She rather have her teeth pulled. Saya probably wanted to nag her about why she had not bore a son yet for Sesshomaru.

"She still hounding you to give Sesshomaru a boy?"

Kagome nodded and rolled her eyes. "It's getting annoying. She keeps trying to give me pointers about what sexual positions to try in order to increase my chances of getting one…you cannot imagine how disturbing it is so I will do what it takes not to see that woman."

"Don't you want to try for a boy?"

Kagome shrugged. "Kimora and Samara are enough of a handful but you know that I don't mind having another if Sesshomaru wanted one but…he doesn't."

"Why not? I mean, especially in his bloodline? What's his reason?"

"He says I won't make it through another birth and I would surely die."

Yura sighed. "Such a romantic that guy is."

"Anyway, what else?"

"Uh…Dr. Paulovich has been leaving tons of messages and wants you to get back at him-what's that about anyway? Was everything alright?"

"Yeah, he just wants me to be his lab rat. What's next?"

"Uh…the Ferguson case dropped. She called this morning."

"What?" Kagome spat. "Why'd she drop out?"

"I don't know…"Yura placed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yes, you do. Spill it out."

"Well, she just said she wanted someone more experienced."

"You mean someone older…or rather someone who looks older." Kagome scoffed. "So who'd she transfer to?"

Yura paused and looked at Haji. "Um…Carl?"

"What? Crazy Carl who like never wins anything?"

"She said for you not to be angry. She wants nothing more than a woman to represent her but when she googled you and saw how young you looked…well, she panicked."

"Well, now she won't win anything." Kagome rolled her eyes. "Did she not see when she _googled _me that I _win_ ninety nine percent of my cases?"

"It's her loss, Kaggy."

"I told you not to call me that at work."

"Sorry."

Kagome groaned. She was so tired of this crap. Youth was something people cherished and advertised even killed for yet not many people could see that it caused problems as well. No one would ever take her seriously. She was often called 'Rookie' even though she'd been in the office for more than four years and had won more cases than anyone at the firm. She fought hard to gain her position and it was only now that people knew how good she was. She spent years trying to show that she was more than Lord Sesshomaru's wife and that she'd gotten the position because she was awesome and not because of him.

"So are you going to tell me about the flowers?"

Kagome looked tired and rolled her eyes again. "It's from this guy I knew in high school, his name is Sasuke."

"Oh my god, your ex-boyfriend?"

"Do I really tell you everything?" Kagome cursed under her breath and took another sip of her coffee.

Yura sat on her desk and fixed her bangs and combed the rest of her bob cut with her fingers. "So scandalous…are you-"

"No, Yura. Can you get off my desk and actually do some work?" Kagome growled impatiently.

"Fine, fine." Yura got off and straightened her blouse. She frowned and looked over her shoulder at Kagome. "You realize the men in your life all start with the letter S?"

Kagome blinked as she thought about it. That was true but she didn't try to acknowledge for it would surely strike another topic with Yura. Yura giggled and flicked her eyes at Haji as she left the office.

Kagome rubbed her temples and looked at her laptop. Whatever residual feeling she had from her time with Sesshomaru was gone and things were back to the way they were. She wished she could have stayed in Sesshomaru's bed with his arms wrapped around her but reality had to take its toll. She looked at Haji and his eyes were looking straight ahead, behind her. She sighed and opened the folders in front of her and went to work. Haji glanced at her briefly and looked behind her again, feeling sympathy for her.

Kimora flew to the other side of the room and fell on her butt. She groaned and grabbed her side, refusing to cry.

"Get up, Kimora." Sesshomaru ordered and she got up, biting back the tears. She hated sparring but it was something she had to do and master by the time she was thirteen. Samara waved her sword and stood with her head raised and a victorious smirk. Kimora tried not to look at her father, feeling as if her weakness disappointed her. A few people sat on the side, people from the clan, Inuyasha and Koga and her grandfather and grandmother. They all watched them as if they were playing a game of cricket.

"Pathetic." Samara muttered and Sesshomaru scolded her.

"Again." Sesshomaru said, his voice soft yet strong enough for a command. Kimora took her stance and watched her sister take hers. "Kimora, you need to know when to lock your knee. It is crucial to know when or you'll either fall easily or have your leg broken." He stopped when he heard snickers coming from Samara.

"Your moves are repetitive, Samara. Your opponent will be able to predict your next move."

Samara's smile faded but she heeded his advice. The room was quiet and it was awkward for Kimora but everyone else seemed to be used to it, including her sister. This was tradition but somehow she couldn't get used to it. As a child she and Samara would watch other members of the clan spar and train for tournaments in the future but she never thought she'd be on the mat. These tournaments gained recognition among the clans on who was the strongest. Sesshomaru won the past generation and before that was their grandfather. But no pressure, right?

Sesshomaru pulled Samara and Kimora to the side away from everyone and knelt down. Even kneeling, he was taller than them. It was no secret that his daughters idolized him and wanted to be like him but for Kimora, deep down inside, she felt she would never be like him.

"Only when sparring should you two be fighting each other." He said, looking intensely at the both of them. "If I find that you disobey me…" his words trailed off, leaving room for their imagination which was probably worse than what he'd actually do.

They both nodded in compliance and went back to their positions. The sparring room was big. Couches lined the walls with a huge bamboo mat in the middle of the room. They both donned a white gi and bowed at their father and then at each other. An elder snake demon sat across the room in front of a pair of drums and another elder from the wolf clan held a flute. They started an ominous melody that signified the beginning of a battle and Kimora's hands clammed up. She saw Samara gripping her wooden sword with a rage she couldn't mimic. She looked at her father and he nodded for her to make her move but she didn't. She saw Denali sitting with her sister Lahira and a few other kids from other clans. Denali was whispering to another girl and she could hear her saying the words 'halfbreed' and 'weak'. The drums sped faster and faster, the flute catching up to its rhythm and then…silence.

Kimora shot one last look at her father and then heard a battle cry and looked to see Samara charging at her with her sword. Instinctively, Kimora turned to run but her father was quick as lightning and blocked her. She turned around, and blocked Samara's sword with hers but staggered back by the force.

"What's the matter, Kimora?" Samara laughed. "Want to cry for mommy?"

Kimora growled and pushed her back with an unexpected force that had a few people gasp. Samara was stunned for a second but shook her head and waved her sword but Kimora dodged out of the way. Samara continued to swing and Kimora kept dodging.

"Stop dodging, Kimora, and start fighting." She heard her father say.

Kimora turned to swing her sword but Samara struck her from the side. Kimora winced and grasped the side of her ribs. She raised her sword and swung. It was luck that she managed to knock the sword out of Samara's hand but Samara was quick, sword or not, she lunged forward and scratched at Kimora's face. Kimora pushed her off and took a few steps back. There were times Sesshomaru wanted to stop the fight but his father was at his side now, holding him back every time he flinched.

"She shows no sign of any strength." Sesshomaru sighed.

"Be patient, it is there." His father said. "She is succumbing. She does not want to fight and doesn't have the desire to. She finds it pointless. Notice how she doesn't really try to hit Samara? She is only dodging or she moves to remove whatever weapon Samara has but that is it."

"She needs to learn how to defend herself."

"She will. She just doesn't find her own sister so much of a threat to fight hard. She knows this is only training. I'm sure if this were a real battle she'd put more effort."

Samara sprinted and grabbed her sword, impaled it through the mat and used it to heave herself into the air and kicked Kimora in the stomach. Kimora grunted and fell back, gasping for air but jumping to her feet immediately when she saw Samara grabbing her sword and charging at her again.

"I should stop the fight." He said, noticing Kimora bleeding from the lip.

"No." his father insisted, pressing a strong hand over his chest. "This is why she isn't trying. She thinks you will stop the fight."

Koga gripped his knees, hating to see his favorite twin getting hurt. He looked at Inuyasha and could see that it was painful for him to see as well. It wasn't common for girls to spar but Sesshomaru overlooked that rule when he realized he was not going to have a son despite how much his mother nagged that he should.

Kimora grabbed her sword and ran the opposite way; she heard giggles from those watching them, mainly from Denali and a few other kids. She looked at her father again but he just watched with no emotion on his face. Samara also glanced at her father and it didn't look like he was impressed. He was bored, she thought. She had to show him what she could do, what she was capable of.

Kimora readied herself for an attack and fixed her stance but in a flash, Samara was on the left of her and then on the right of her another second. She was showing her speed, something she didn't see before. But Kimora knew Samara well and could always figure out where she'd show up so when she appeared at her right again, Kimora swung her sword and knocked the sword out of Samara's hand but in doing so, hit her fingers as well.

Samara yelped in pain as she retracted her hand back. She heard Denali laugh and a few others as well and her face became red with embarrassment. She glared at Kimora and her eyes glowed red.

"Sorry, Samara…I was just trying to-"

Kimora couldn't finish because Samara jumped on her, punched her in the face and threw her over her shoulder. This time Sesshomaru had to stop the fight because Samara continued to punch and claw at her and Kimora would not fight back.

"Enough!" Sesshomaru let out a guttural growl that shook even those who watched from the sidelines. Samara quickly yielded like a scolded dog and bowed her head. His face was tensed as he picked up Kimora. "Everyone leave now."

No one hesitated once he spoke and everyone walked out of the room. Saya passed by Samara and rested a palm on her shoulder and looked at Kimora, sympathetically or disappointedly, she couldn't tell. Samara legs shook, wondering if she'd crossed the line. She looked at her grandfather but he didn't even look at her as he passed by.

When everyone was gone, Kimora was crying on the mat, refusing to show her face. Her hands were bloody as well from shielding her face. Sesshomaru stood up, turned to face Samara and she could swear she stopped breathing. She felt like she was shrinking as he walked toward her.

She didn't look up from the floor when he stopped in front of her. Sensing how angry he was, she expected him to have struck her but his hands remained at his side.

"Look at me." He said and she did after a moment. "What you did was completely unethical and barbaric. Sparring is an art and it is also about respect. You must compose yourself and assess where you went wrong. Losing control is a sign of weakness."

"I'm sorry, father." She saw the look of disappointment in his face and looked back down.

"Go." He said and she ran off without looking back. He sighed and rubbed his temples as he turned around to get Kimora but she was she was no longer in the room.

Kimora could hear everyone calling her name as she hid in the kitchen pantry. On her way out of the sparring room, she grabbed a can of air freshener and sprayed it as she walked to block her scent. It would only work for a little while until it cleared out but she didn't want to see anyone right now. She was embarrassed and didn't want to see her father's face, to show him how weak she was.

She ached, and her face and knuckles stung as she sat in the corner with her knees to her chest. Why did Samara hate her so much? The skin by her eyes felt raw from constantly wiping her tears. She wanted her mother. She hated feeling like mommy and daddy's little girl and it exhausted her how much they sheltered her, even from her own sister.

The door opened and the light from the kitchen shone bright into the dark room. She covered her eyes and tried to see the silhouette in front of her.

"I knew I'd find you here." She heard the familiar voice.

"Uncle Inuyasha?" she said, her voice hoarse. "How did you find me?"

"Everyone is worried, Kimmy. We're all looking for you."

"I don't want anyone to see me like this. Don't try to convince me to get out of here."

"I won't." he said as he sat next to her. "Trust me, I hear ya. I would always hide after a sparring match."

"I bet you didn't get as beat up as I did."

He laughed. If she only knew. Sesshomaru put him in the hospital once and there was another time that he punched him in the boy's locker room and knocked him out for hours. He woke up when the school janitor found him after school hours.

"Does it get easier, Uncle Inuyasha? Will people accept me the way I am?"

Inuyasha sighed. "The important thing, Kimmy, is that the people you care about accept you. You don't need to worry about the rest."

"But what happens when the people I care about don't accept me?"

"Who are you talking about? They do. "

"I will never be a tough demon leader like daddy, grandma hates me and mommy always tries to protect me because she knows I'm not as tough as Samara and Samara…is ashamed of me because I'm not full blooded like her."

Inuyasha rested a hand on her shoulder. "I cannot promise you it will get easier, Kimmy. The only thing I can tell you is that you have to remain strong, inside."

Kimora nodded and they were silent for a while. Inuyasha grabbed a can of beans from the shelf and read the label. "I used to hide here when I was young too. I would hide for hours and would sometimes go hungry so I decided the pantry was the best place to hide because it was closest to the bathroom and I could eat while I was here."

Kimora giggled as he handed her a bag of marshmallows. They ate a few before Sesshomaru found the both of them. Inuyasha signaled him not to show he was worried and that everything was taken care of but Sesshomaru insisted getting Kimora's wounds cleaned.

Kimora sat at the table while her father brought over the first aid kit. He took a while reading the labels wondering which he should use since he never had the need for ointments and first aid kits. He dabbed the cotton swab on her knuckles and she whimpered.

"Why do I have to fight, daddy?"

He stopped and looked at her for a moment and brought a cotton swab to her lip.

"You do not have to but it is a resourceful skill to have."

"When will I have to fight anyone?"

"Should there ever be someone to threaten the person you care about, wouldn't you want to know how to protect them?" he stopped when he realized he sounded just like his father.

"What if the other person is a full demon, how can I protect myself from them when they are going to be stronger than me?"

Sesshomaru noticed another cut on her forehead and dabbed the swab on it. "I am going to tell you a story that I have never told anyone."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Not even mom?"

"No."

"Or Uncle Inuyasha?"

"Especially him."

She stopped and waited for him to speak.

"Inuyasha and I didn't get along when we were younger."

"Dad, you don't get along now."

Sesshomaru paused. "Even more so…don't interrupt. I had made a reference about his mother that he didn't take very well. I had made many references to his mother but this one remark really got to him."

"What was it?"

"I said many things that I cannot remember." He stopped and bandaged one of her hands. "Inuyasha and I would fight often and often I would win…but when I said this one remark, he hit me with a force stronger than any other demon I've ever fought. I do not think Inuyasha realized how strong he was at the moment but when we fought he could never hit that hard like that one time."

"So…you're saying that he was stronger than you?"

Sesshomaru frowned. "No. Yes…for a second." He stopped. _You're deterring from the point of the conversation_, he thought. _Forget about your ego for this one moment_. "The point is…that you have the strength, you just need to know where it is and how to use it."

"Do you think I will ever be as strong as you?"

He was quiet as he stared into her hazel eyes. She had Kagome's eyes. Her white bangs usually covered them but as he pushed her hair back to dress her wound, he took in her big beautiful eyes and couldn't contain a grin.

"Maybe." He said and started putting the first aid kit away. She walked over to the stove and picked up a steel frying pan from the rack and looked at her reflection. She grimaced and looked away.

"I'm going to have scars, aren't I?"

"Perhaps not."

"If I were a full demon, I wouldn't have scars."

"No, we get scars also, we just heal quicker."

"Do you have any scars?"

"Yes."

"Can I see?"

"No."

"Dad, come on? It would give me comfort and ease my worries." She crossed her arm and he grinned as he walked away with her following behind him.

Sesshomaru had to get the documents from his office and left the girls at the D.D.C manor with his father and mother. With the girls there, he knew his parents wouldn't be at each others' throats…as much. He parked his black BMW in the parking lot and opened his glove compartment. He grabbed a black berretta from it and placed it into a holster by his hip. He didn't feel the need to carry a gun but the board at the D.D.C Headquarters insisted he either carried it or allowed sentry to guard him so he chose to carry the gun.

He grabbed his double espresso and entered the building, being greeted by everyone as he did. People bowed as he passed but this was normal and disregarded usually. He took the elevator and a burly bald man walked inside with him.

"Greetings, Lord Sesshomaru."

"Myoga…" he said.

"I heard about Siberia. Congrats are in order but we all knew you could do it anyway."

Sesshomaru nodded, which was also normal for people at the D.D.C. Unlike his casual conversations at home with his family, at work, Sesshomaru was a man of few words and he liked to keep it this way. He exited the elevator and saw his incompetent secretary sitting at her desk beside his door. Sandra, Sally, Sue, Samantha…he searched for her name in his head but didn't care to figure it out. He wasn't particularly used to forgetting a person's name but hers failed to register for some odd reason.

"Good morning, my lord!" she stood from her chair and handed him coffee. He looked at his hand that already held coffee and looked at her cup. When she noticed he already had coffee, she set the coffee aside. "I was able to get your meetings back."

"Great."

"I don't know if you checked your messages but I-"she stopped when he slammed the door in her face. She looked around the office and bowed her head hearing snickers. She frowned and took a deep breath. This man was not going to make her look like a fool. She opened the door and stormed in.

"I was not finished." She said bitterly and a little too loudly than she intended.

"I beg your pardon?" he removed his coat and her frown was replaced by a nervous expression. What did she just do? She took a step back and almost made a run for it but bucked up and swallowed her nerves.

"I-uh…I mean… I have other things to tell you."

"Then hurry up and tell me." He said with an attitude she did not care for. Why did he have to be so rude? Did he speak to his wife this way?

She placed a strand of her long black hair behind her ear and gulped. "W-well, Naraku Onigumo's body had been found by pier 17 this morning."

Sesshomaru stopped and turned to her. "Why have you not called me?"

"I…tried, sir, but you weren't picking up your phone."

Sesshomaru sighed. He had been ignoring her on purpose. He sat in his chair and continued to look at her. Now having his undivided attention, she felt pressured and hoped she didn't say anything stupid.

"Well, at first, N.Y.P.D didn't want to hand over his body but I sent the Lieutenant to reprimand him with documentation stating that we have the right to extract D.D.C property ,which includes employees, for primary investigations. They haven't analyzed his body yet so, so far that we know, his body has not been tampered with since…well, you know."

Sesshomaru looked indifferent but she thought she saw surprise in his expression, she actually did something right. But knowing he would soon see Naraku's body didn't please him.

"Please notify me when he arrives." He said. "Sara, right?"

"Yes." She said, stifling a smile. She never liked her name so much but it sounded different coming out of his mouth.

He nodded. "You can go now."

Sara left the office and refrained from jumping up and squealing. A few girls around the office looked back surprised as she confidently walked back to her desk. This was good, she thought. She did something right and she could tell that he was impressed. This made her very happy and she wanted to do more to make him satisfied.

When Naraku's body came in, it was to Sara's incumbency to notify Sesshomaru about his arrival. She didn't know what Sesshomaru's relationship was with him but he looked to be in deep thought as they walked down the sanitized white hallway with white tiled floors. They entered a room and a man had been picking something out of Naraku's mouth with a tweezer.

"What can you tell me?" Sesshomaru asked as he put on latex gloves and examined Naraku. His eyes were cold and Sara couldn't see anything familiar in them. He looked at this man as if he were just another casualty no different than any other. Maybe this Naraku was a stranger or someone not that important to him.

The analyst sat back in his chair and placed whatever he pulled out of Naraku's mouth into a small plastic bag.

"I haven't done all of the tests." He said in a thick Chinese accent. "But this man was definitely tortured. Did he work for the D.D.C?"

"Yes." Sesshomaru said. "Briefly."

"I see." The man said. "Well, cause of death was…"

"Gunshots to the head, wasn't it?" Sesshomaru pointed to two gunshot wounds on Naraku's forehead.

"Actually, "the man said. "He was still alive when he was shot. What killed him was septicemia."

"Elaborate. I watched the video and he was shot in the head."

"Did you see him die?"

Sesshomaru thought about it. The screen went black afterward. "Can you tell where he's been harbored?"

"Somewhere very unclean, that is for sure, but with these lacerations, he could have gotten infected anywhere. There are deep puncture wounds by the kidneys, and an abscess underneath it. I believe the infection started here. Judging by the fever blisters all over his mouth; he was probably kept in poor conditions for more than a week, with no food or water, I might add. As for the bullet wounds, neither of the bullets actually went through his head. The first one grazed the side of his temple. The other, considering the angle, must have ricocheted and glided on the skull cavity, it was imbedded into it but it didn't pierce right through."

"So this is work of an amateur." Sesshomaru asked as Sara wrote all of this down.

"I would say this person has never held a gun in his life."

Sesshomaru squinted, his eyes darting left and right as he contemplated. "Is there anything to give us a lead?"

"Not at the moment, sir. I'm still waiting on ballistics and sent a soil sample I found in his ears down to the lab. Toxicology reports show they used an intravenous sedative called Midazolam to keep him tranquil."

"But…"Sara interrupted. "Mr. Onigumo here is a demon, right? How is it his body wasn't able to heal itself?"

Sesshomaru almost felt embarrassed by her question that he looked at the doctor with an expression that told him not to even bother explaining it but the doctor smiled and looked at her.

"Well, even for a demon, they do need to be fed and hydrated just like a human. His body was too weak to heal."

"Oh…"Sara said, glancing at Sesshomaru hoping he didn't give her a look of stupidity. He did, but she didn't see it.

"Notify me when you get more information." Sesshomaru said and removed his gloves. He stormed through a pair of double doors and headed toward the elevator. Sara tried to keep up but following him in heels was a challenge. She made a mental note to wear flats next time. The elevator doors had almost closed by the time she got there. The ride up to the main lobby was long especially in the silence. Sesshomaru was furious and she decided not to say a word. She even tried her best to breathe less.

An amateur? He had been chasing an amateur? If this person was an amateur, why was it that he had not found him yet? Sara watched as he glared at the doors in deep thought. Veins pulsated on his neck as he clenched his teeth and yet she couldn't help thinking how handsome he was. His long silver hair rested quietly and tamed behind his back. His expensive suit had not a single wrinkle and he smelled of vanilla and musk, which wasn't like any type of cologne she had ever smelled on a man. She still felt a bit humiliated and felt the need to explain herself.

"I always forget that demons are kind of like humans in a sense. It's just they are so strong, I feel like they can fight anything and—"

He wasn't listening. He kept thinking about Naraku and the last time they spoke. Naraku always kept in touch and told him of all the things he was doing and where he was going. It was more out of hope that he could provoke Sesshomaru into coming with him but always failed. When they got back to his office, Samara and Kimora popped out of the door.

"What are you doing here?" Sesshomaru asked, his tone surprised but not happy. His father poked his head out of the office and smiled.

"We asked Grandpa to take us here. We wanted to see your job!" Kimora said. Her beautiful silver hair had been pulled into a tight ponytail. She buried her hands into a white hooded sweater and jumped up and down with excitement. Sara noticed Kimora's converse sneakers and was surprised to see such a wealthy child wear such thing. Samara, on the other hand, was a kid dressed as one who was wealthy. Her long black hair was loose with a diamond headband. She had a white wool coat and suede boots.

Kimora walked over to Sara and waved. "Hi, I'm Kimora."

Sara thought she was just the cutest thing but frowned at the cuts on her face. She looked up and Inutaisho knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Sparring. I know, it's such a barbaric tradition especially for girls but…it is tradition."

Sara faltered a nod and looked at Samara who was looking back with an expression scary for a ten year old.

"Father, I am hungry. Can we get something to eat?" Samara asked, still glaring at Sara.

"Yes, but go into office first." He said, pushing them back inside. He closed the door and scowled at his father. "Why did you bring them here?"

"They asked me to." Inutaisho shrugged. "Hello, Stephanie."

"Hello, sir." Sara rolled her eyes. She didn't want to correct him. He seemed he was being sincerely nice.

"I am working. There is a lot I have to take care of."

"It is just lunch, Sesshomaru. They wanted to see you. They were bored at the house. They came to spend their winter vacation with you, not with the house."

"I am waiting on a few reports."

"Oh," Sara interrupted. "I can page you when the ballistic report on Mr. Onigumo's autopsy comes in."

Sesshomaru buried his face into his hand while his father looked wide eyed at the both of them. Did this woman know anything about confidentiality?

"Naraku? What happened to Naraku?"

"He's dead." Sesshomaru said flatly and scowled at Sara.

"Oh no…"Inutaisho said and looked at Sara. "I'm sorry to hear that, Sesshomaru. I know he was your friend. What happened?"

"I am not sure yet. "He said brushing it off and opened the office door. He looked at his daughters and nodded. "Let's go."

He shot a glare at Sara as he walked off and she knew she did something she was not supposed to do. So Naraku Onigumo was Sesshomaru's friend, she couldn't believe it. He didn't act like that was his friend on the metal table. She found herself googling Naraku. Googling was the highlight of her life now and she loved that she could get all sorts of answers right away. She found out that Naraku and Sesshomaru went to the same private school and attended the same college. They had a business together overseas until Sesshomaru bought him out but it didn't state why. She found herself googling his wife Kagome, an obsession that started once she became his secretary. She couldn't help herself; a dashing powerful husband and gorgeous kids. How did a human woman score something like that? What was so special about her? She wondered if the divorce went through and found herself shaking her head. Why was she thinking that? Was she nuts? It didn't matter if the man was single, he still wouldn't look twice at a girl like her. She looked at her boring hair and looked into the screen of her computer and saw the reflection of her boring eyes. She had to do something with herself. She thought about how in a few years she would be thirty and didn't have a husband yet. She was jealous of Sesshomaru's wife even without meeting her. She found a picture of Kagome in an article of the New York Times. She enlarged the picture of her on the screen and studied her. She really was beautiful. Her hair was perfect, her skin flawless, she didn't look like a wife or a mother. She was surprised to see that she was the same age as her but she looked to be in her early twenties perhaps. Damn rich women and their Botox procedures. She continued to study her and tried to see what won his affection. She was pretty but so were his other girlfriends so what was it about this human girl that made her different from the rest. She knew she should be working but was too obsessed with looking through pictures and articles about Sesshomaru and Kagome. They were married for almost ten years, their daughters attended Inutaisho Academy, Kagome was a hot shot defense attorney for the Supreme court and there was even an update about her getting promoted to be a judge but turned it down. Kagome was just seventeen when she started modeling for Valentino and was a normal kid from the suburbs. She didn't even come from money. She found an article for International Weekly, predating back to ten years when he was modeling with Kagome in Italy. She read the article and her mouth dropped. He was married to another woman when he was dating Kagome?

"What?" she leaned closer to the screen as she read on. "Shurran Bokunaska?"

Sara frowned and drummed her fingers on the desk. She stared at the pile of folders on her desk, at the blinking light on the phone, all the messages she should take down but instead she found herself typing this name into Google's search engine.

Please review.

-Diana Elizabeth


	7. Chapter 7

Kimora was quieter than usual at lunch. She occasionally glanced at her father while he browsed through his phone not really acknowledging anyone at the table. Her grandfather talked to him despite being ignored by him. Samara made small talk with her but Kimora kept her distance; she didn't feel like taking a ride through her mood swings again.

"Are you still upset that I hit you?" Samara sighed. "It's part of sparring. You hit me, I hit you. There is no need to be so sore about it." When Kimora didn't answer, she frowned and looked at her food. "Fine, don't talk to me. You're such a baby."

Kimora wasn't concerned about what happened during their sparring match. She still harbored curiosity about the woman she saw on the internet, the one who claimed to be married to her father. Sure, she assumed that it was a common tabloid hoax but there was something inside her wondering if…

"Kimora, is there something you want to ask me?" her father spoke and her stomach lurched. She didn't realize she was staring at him the entire time. He didn't look up from his phone and waited for her to speak. When she didn't, he finally lifted his gaze at her. She pressed her lips, slouched and shook her head. "Then why do you continue to stare at me as if you have a question?"

This time Samara and her grandfather were looking at her too. Kimora was always terrible with confrontation and every time she was confronted, she had an ill habit of grabbing a strand of her white hair, covering it over her face and twirling it. This made it very easy for others to know there was something she was hiding.

"I am waiting." He said.

"It's just that…"she cleared her throat and looked between her sister and grandfather. Inutaisho sipped his water looking expectantly with one cocked brow. She fixed her gaze on her father, his expression not changing. He set his phone down so it was detrimental that she spoke now since putting his phone down meant he was serious. "Were you married before to another woman?"

Inutaisho choked on his water and let out a chuckle while Samara looked at her disbelievingly. But nothing could beat the look of surprise on her father's face. He looked at a loss for words for just a second, blinking as he processed what she asked.

"Where did you get that vacuous notion?" he frowned and looked at Samara. She lowered her head in a guilty fashion and he could tell she knew about this as well.

Samara kicked Kimora's foot under the table and glowered at her. Kimora just ignored her and looked back at her father.

"Is it true?" she asked.

"No." he said flatly.

"But it said-"

He scowled. "I said no."

She was quiet and looked down at her lap. Regardless if he said no, she still didn't feel assured. Her grandfather rested a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"Darling, I can assure you that your mother is the only woman your father was ever married to."

Samara squinted between her father and grandfather and leaned toward the edge of her seat. "Then why did this woman claim to be his wife?"

"What woman?" Inutaisho tilted his head and looked at Sesshomaru for answers.

Sesshomaru glared at his father for staring at him accusingly and looked back at his daughters. "You did not answer. Where did you hear this?"

Both girls hesitated and gulped at the same time. "The internet."

Inutaisho scoffed. "You girls mustn't believe everything you read on the internet. It's filled with garbage."

"But grandpa, "Kimora said, confused. "You said that the internet was the most impressive, efficient and reliable technology the humans have ever created."

Inutaisho blinked. "Well…yes but..."

"Enough," Sesshomaru sighed. "You know better than to go on the internet without supervision. You dare disobey my rules?"

"But it wasn't me, it was Dena—ow!" Kimora cried and glared at Samara for kicking her again.

"Don't you dare rat on Denali!" Samara whispered tersely.

"Whatever, she's not my friend. I'm not getting in trouble for something she did."

"What's going on?" Inutaisho asked.

Kimora eyed Samara one last time and looked at both her grandfather and father. "Denali is the one who showed us."

"Who?" Sesshomaru cocked a brow and looked at his father.

"Denali?" Inutaisho pondered. "Oh yes, Denali Sambe… she's the little blonde girl from the Nekochiba tribe. You met her at the party. She's Koura's daughter." He said to Sesshomaru who dismissed it with little care. "I knew that girl was trouble…"Inutaisho muttered to himself. "Those cat demons always are."

Samara crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward in her seat. "Father, why are you working today? You're not supposed to work until Wednesday."

"Something important came up."

"Something important always comes up…"Samara muttered under her breath. "When will you be home then?"

"Soon." He said.

"How soon?" she asked.

"When things are taken care of."

"What things?" she asked, knowing she was out of line with the interrogation. She refrained from asking any more on that subject and picked a pickle out of her sandwich. "What happened to Lana, father?"

"Lana left."

"What a shame." Samara sighed. "I rather liked her. I'm not really fond of your new secretary."

"That makes two of us." Sesshomaru said in a low breath as he looked through his phone. He growled to himself as he deleted the spam emails his secretary kept sending about the Acai diet and penis enlargement.

Inutaisho sighed. "Oh, give Selene a break. She's new. She'll catch on to the way things work."

"I thought her name was Stephanie?" Samara chewed on a fry.

"No. That can't be—wait, is it?" Inutaisho brought his index to his lips.

Samara shrugged. "That's what I heard you call her."

"I don't think either of those is her name." Kimora leaned back into her chair. "I overheard someone in the office call her _Sara_."

"Are you sure?" Inutaisho's eyes widened. He looked at Sesshomaru. "Is her name Sara?" Sesshomaru shrugged and Inutaisho tilted his head to the side and waved his hand. "Don't you know your secretary's name?"

"Not that it matters, I do not believe I will keep her."

"Good." Samara said. "She has deceiving eyes."

"Samara…that is not very nice. You do not know her." Inutaisho shook his head.

"and I do not wish to." Samara said. "You've always said to trust my instincts, grandfather. Are you telling me now that my instincts are unreliable?"

Inutaisho sighed. He had looked hypocritical at this point and didn't press further. "I can't believe I've been calling her the wrong name." he said and looked at all of them. "Well, now I'm embarrassed."

There was a commotion behind them and they all looked to see a small man shouting in a foreign language at Koga who walked toward them still wearing his motorcycle helmet pushing the short man out of his way. He removed his helmet and saluted them with his index finger.

"Yo."

"Hey, uncle Koga." Kimora greeted him with a warm smile.

"For crying out loud, Kimora, how many times do I have to tell you he is not our uncle?" Samara rolled her eyes.

"I'll stop when you stop calling the other clan members 'cousins' when they're not our cousins." Kimora mumbled, still smiling at Koga.

"What are you doing here?" Sesshomaru regarded him dryly and took a sip of his water.

"I went to the manor and saw that no one was there. I had some pie while I watched a few reruns of Happy days and got bored. Why are you working?"

Sesshomaru rubbed his forehead and glowered at him. "What pie did you eat, not the one on the counter?"

Koga twitched his lips and debated his answer. "Uh…the apple pie, you mean?"

"That apple pie is for the prime minister of Somalia. He is arriving from the airport in an hour. We have a meeting."

Koga winced. "Ooh, I probably shouldn't have eaten it all…my bad. I was hungry and the pie was just looking at me. You guys don't eat sweets anyway…I thought I was helping you guys out." He added defensively when he caught the look of disapproval on everyone's faces.

Inutaisho shook his head and looked at Sesshomaru. "Better call in quick and have Sahara bake another one. You know Omar is indubitably cranky when his blood sugar is low. Sahara's apple pie is his favorite."

"So, the woman with the blue hair, who is she?" Kimora asked.

"What woman with blue hair?" Koga leaned in and stole a cherry tomato from Sesshomaru's salad.

"The woman who claims she's daddy's wife."

Koga choked. "What?"

Sesshomaru shook his head. "Don't provoke the matter."

"I didn't say anything. I'm just curious. What woman, Kimmy?"

"I don't remember her name, something Boku…Bokunaska?"

Koga squinted as he rummaged through his memory. "I got nothing. You know you had all those girls on your-"he stopped when he noted the look on Sesshomaru and Inutaisho's face. He cleared his throat. "I mean…your dad had quite the fan club."

"_Bokunaska, _why does that name sound so familiar?" Inutaisho rubbed his chin and laughed. "I can't seem to remember anything these days."

They sat down for another ten minutes while they finished their lunch. The girls went back to the manor with their grandfather and Koga followed Sesshomaru back to work. When they arrived, Koga mingled through a group of women talking by the coffee machine and worked his charm successfully with them. Sesshomaru headed toward his office, stopping briefly at Sara's desk to pick up incoming faxes from his inbox bin. She looked up at him, met his eyes and quickly looked away when he met hers in an unfriendly way.

He removed his jacket when he entered his office and set his gun on the desk. Skimming through folders, he frowned when he didn't see what he was looking for. Before he could page Sara on the intercom, a woman with short red hair barged in through the door, a little too excited, holding a folder in hand.

"I thought you were still at lunch, sir, but I have what you're looking for right here!"

Her name was Julie and she'd wanted the position for Sesshomaru's private secretary for years, even begged Lana and offered to pay her for it. It was no secret in the office that Sesshomaru thought Sara to be incompetent so Julie made it a point to stick out like a shining star so he'd consider her for the position when he became impatient and fired Sara. When he had asked Sara to run a photo through the system to find someone, Sara stared blankly. Julie overheard and offered to do it right away.

"Thank you, Julie."

"No problem, sir. If you need anything else."

"Nothing mo-"

"Anything, coffee, tea…or if you want me to sort out these files for you, I'm not doin-"

"That will be all, Julie."

"Right, ok. Well, if you need me."

Sesshomaru stared at her indifferently and she closed the door. His mind quickly focused on the folder and he couldn't wait to find out more on the man Kagome had met for lunch. He glanced at the picture on his desk and his heart ached. Seeing her that one night, her telling him that nothing happened between her and that man, he couldn't get his mind off of it. She was close to moving on. Any further mistakes, any detail gone unnoticed, if days became months…he could lose her again. No, she understood. She wouldn't. Not after that night on Christmas Eve. He ignored the anger as he looked through the file.

Sasuke Hideko went to Shikon High with Kagome, graduated the same year as her with honors, went to Oxford and served in the D.D.C military for five years. He married a woman from the Nekochiba tribe and had a son Arahim who was around the same age as his daughters. Sasuke worked for D.D.C branch in Shanghai as an interpreter and transferred to the New York branch a few months ago. He resided in a penthouse not too far from where Kagome lived with the girls.

He continued to read the information and scanned through an evaluation chart sent by the Chinese branch. He was surprised to find out that Sasuke was the reason he had a lead on finding the demon troops harboring half-breeds in Siberia. Perhaps he could show his gratitude then threaten him if he should ever approach Kagome again. He paged Sara to come into his office and within a second she stumbled in.

"Y-yes, sir?"

"I need you to contact Sasuke Hideko and schedule a meeting with him. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Absolutely, sir." She nodded vehemently and turned to walk out. As soon as she stepped out, Koga walked in.

"I don't know how you do it…"he said. "All these women…they're like hot, tell me you honestly don't notice?"

Sesshomaru wasn't paying attention. He stared at the picture of Sasuke and drummed his fingers on his desk. Koga walked toward the desk and pulled a chair in front of the desk.

Sesshomaru cocked his head to the side. "Do you know someone named Sasuke?"

Koga paused midway, his butt hovering over the seat. "Um…nope."

"Really…" Sesshomaru held up one of the pictures of Sasuke and Kagome and placed it back in the folder.

"Should I?" Koga cleared his throat, noting the disbelieving tone in Sesshomaru's voice.

"I figured you would since you met him the other night with Kagome." Sesshomaru looked up from the folder and fixed him with a cold stare.

Koga tittered. "Oh…yeah. I remember now."

Sesshomaru nodded, placed the pictures down, and folded his hands in front of him. "Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"Er, well, I was gonna, right? But I forgot. That's why I came here now…I was going to tell you that actually now that I remember."

"Mmhm."

"You know I can be forgetful when it comes to important stuff, it wasn't like I was taking Kagome's side or anything. I didn't even like the guy, his teeth are too white."

"Is there anything else you feel you've _forgotten_ to tell me?"

Koga cleared his throat. "Not that I can remember?"

"Very well…I need you to leave then. There are things I need to take care of."

"Yeah, you're right. I know you're a busy man. You have a lot to handle…you know, saving the world and junk." Koga nodded and stood up with no hesitation. Normally, he'd stick around regardless how many times Sesshomaru told him to leave but he didn't want to be around if he decided to question him again. He walked to the door and looked back. "Hey, actually, the cops keep giving me these tickets for speeding and parking in the handicap zone, you think you can like…take care of it?"

Sesshomaru looked up from the pictures and squinted. Koga tittered and flashed a huge smile. "Yeah, you're busy. We'll talk later." Koga added and left.

There was a lot to take care of and 'busy' just didn't seem right enough for the appellation. There was Naraku to think of, his daughters, Kagome, the world…it was beginning to be too much. He'd never felt stressed from work and was always calm when it came to handling complicated situations but this one felt out of his control. He had no idea who he was up against and it seemed that if he didn't act fast, that regardless if he was home or not, his work would still find Kagome and the girls.

He drummed his fingers on the desk and searched through the files again and when he was done, he'd do it again. There had to be something he was overlooking.

* * *

"I cannot believe you squealed on Denali. When she finds out, she is going to have my head, Kimora." Samara plopped on her bed and crossed her arms.

"Oh no, am I supposed to care?" Kimora rolled her eyes and opened her sketchbook. There was a tingling feeling on the back of her neck that had been bothering her since lunch. She started doodling lines while Samara scoffed and paced around the room.

"You may not care because you don't have to but I have a status to establish."

"What status is that, being a major buttface?" Kimora snorted and Samara stopped in her track and bristled over her shoulder.

"Of course I don't expect you to understand. There isn't much of a status you can ever establish with your blood."

"You know when you say my blood, do you mean mom's blood? Because the same blood runs through your veins too, or did you forget?"

"You know what I mean. I was fortunate to come out with only father's blood."

Kimora chuckled. "That's scientifically impossible."

"Don't be such a brat, Kimora."

"Well, then don't be so stupid, Sa-mah-ra!"

"Ugh, I'm not going to lower myself and argue with you." Samara rolled her eyes. "I'm going to ask father if I can live with him."

"So you're just going to leave mom and me like that?"

"Of course, I'll visit." Samara stuck her nose in the air and ran her fingers through her long black hair.

"How nice of you to grace us with your presence…not!" Kimora scoffed. "Dad's not going to let you live with him…and how can you be so mean to mom. I hate you so much right now."

Samara pressed her lips and walked to her closet. Kimora had never told her such mean thing. She shrugged and pulled out a few dresses. "I don't care if you hate me because I hate you too."

"Then we're even." Kimora said. She grabbed her sketchbook and headed out the room.

"Where are you going?" Samara shouted after her.

"Somewhere where you aren't." Kimora shouted back, wiping tears from her eyes. Despite trying to stand up to Samara and look strong, it hurt her to say such things. She didn't hate Samara, she could never hate Samara and she especially didn't like to see her mother hurt when it came to trivial things like her 'human blood.' How many times did she have to hear things like that?

Growing up in a house full of demons, being around other demon clans, she and her mother always felt left out. They were nice to them for the sake of Sesshomaru but it was all fake and even at three years old, she could tell it was. She always had to hear at gatherings how stupid her father had been to take a human as his wife and how it ruined his status. One time a lady from the snake tribe actually had the nerve to come up to Kimora one day and say 'You know, your father was betrothed to me when we were thirteen. Think of it, I could have been your mother, Kimora, and you would be a full demon."

Kimora had replied that she was stupid to have believed such a theory and went about playing. Her grandmother had punished her for speaking to an elder clan member in a disrespectful way. There was also her grandmother. She didn't know what to think about her. She wasn't readable the way her grandfather was. With each glare, she always wondered, does she hate me?

Kimora didn't want to talk to anyone, didn't want to see anyone but the manor was full of people around. A few men sat in the meeting room waiting for her father to arrive, her grandfather was in the library, her grandmother was in the dining room, scolding the maids most likely, and guards surveyed the halls all the time. The pantry was too dark to draw and Sahara would probably walk in there every few minutes looking for a spice or ingredient. Her father's study was the only quiet place and she knew she couldn't go in there but she wanted to get away from everyone for just that moment.

Sesshomaru didn't like having guards around his study so there wasn't much sneaking around she had to do. The problem was the code to the lock. There was only one lock and it wasn't as high tech as the one he had inside that guarded more important things. This one was a standard numeric pad with a five digit code. She had seen too many movies and felt the adrenaline rushing inside her as she stared at the pad. Did her father guard the office with traps like Indiana Jones? Would there be a boulder chasing her down the hallway if she got it wrong? She set her sketchbook by the door and rubbed her chin, scanning the hallways for anyone.

She punched in her birthday, the one she shared with Samara and it blinked red. No, not their birthday. She punched his birthday and it blinked red. This time she looked over her shoulder expecting darts to shoot at the door. She punched in her mother's and it blinked red.

"Ugh…" she looked around frustratingly and glared at the door. She turned the knob around hoping it would be open but of course, it wasn't. She heard voices in the hallway and her heart raced. She tried already three times and nothing. She had given up and turned around when she decided perhaps…

Three, Three, Zero, Zero, Five. The light blinked green and she cheered quietly as she opened the door and grabbed her sketchbook. She couldn't help but smile at how hopelessly romantic her father was; putting his wedding date as the pass code. She looked around and sat in his chair. She thought about how much trouble she could get into but she wasn't doing anything wrong, she thought. She just wanted a quiet place to draw. She'd been inside his study a few times to ask him if she could play outside or watch a movie that was not PG but she never fully noticed what else there was. It was pretty boring, nothing really stood out.

The shades were closed; there were files all over, even on a few chairs. The desk had been cluttered with pens, crumbled papers and paperclips. She pushed them aside to have space to set her sketchbook on. The silence bothered her at first. She couldn't hear anything at all, not even the voices around the house. Periodically, she looked around the room when she thought about what she was sketching and fixed her gaze on an envelope with a sticker of Santa Clause on it. She opened it and saw a CD or DVD and wondered if it had anything to do with Christmas, perhaps a Christmas movie or soundtrack. It struck her odd why her father would have something like this and decided to pop it into the laptop in front of her. The screen appeared and of course it was locked.

"Oh, crappy." She frowned. "Another password."

She typed in her parent's wedding date but it didn't go through. She decided to give it one more try and if it didn't work, she'd leave. She felt she was already pressing her luck with the breaking and entering. She typed in her birthday and it went through. Why does he make it so easy?

She opened the file and realized it was a DVD. It was weird at first with a white screen and black words that she didn't fully understand. She was about to turn it off when the visual part came on and as she watched with dread, her breathing labored, she couldn't look away. Was this real? Was that uncle Naraku? She watched further and realized it was a big mistake to come in her father's study. When the bullet pierced Naraku's head, she fell from her chair and started screaming. She left her notebook on the desk and continued screaming as she opened the door and ran out.

* * *

Samara waited by the door when she saw her father's car pull up. She put on her prettiest dress and fixed her hair and waited as he opened the door. She'd ask him one last time if she could move with him.

"Hello, father."

Sesshomaru looked exhausted as he removed his coat and nodded. "I need you to go upstairs now, Samara."

"But I have something I want to—"

"Samara, not now…please."

"But father…it's important. I wanted to know if you could reconsid—"

"Sir, they're here. We need to move them downstairs now!" said a guard, apprehensively. "You might need to move some of them into the living room perhaps, there is just too many of them."

"Right…" Sesshomaru said and glowered at Samara. "Go upstairs…now."

Samara fumed as she stormed up the steps, looking behind her. Her father walked out of the front door and she heard screaming. People rushed inside through the large doors, strolling gurneys into the lobby. Men screamed in agony, holding bloody parts of their bodies. There were women too, screaming just as much.

"It hurts…please, make it stop!" one man cried, holding his eye.

"Let me die, let me die, let me die!" cried another.

Samara paused, her eyes wide as she watched people barge through the doors. The screaming became louder as people shouted orders over the wailing.

"The infirmary is downstairs, take them down now, don't cram yourselves in the elevator, those who can walk, please take the stairs!"

"This man needs to be operated on, right now!"

Samara hadn't realized she was walking downstairs now, looking around scared and shocked. It was too grotesque as she watched a man coughing up blood and a woman holding her arm with a hand that wasn't there.

"F-Father?" Samara called out but he wasn't around. People pushed her and a gurney rolled over her foot as it passed her. "Ow…father?"

What was going on? Who were these people and what were they doing here? Everything was too loud. Where was Kimora, or Cado, or Remy? Where was her father?

"Kimora?" she shouted and looked over her shoulder at a man who stood in the middle of the room holding his dislocated arm, blood trickling down his forehead.

"You're one of them, aren't you? A tricker, eh? They sent you to fool me?" he gritted.

"I don't know what you're…I have to find my…" she stopped and shouted. "Father!"

"Actin' all innocent, man, they teach you all well. But I don't agree with my buddies, you see? A kid is no longer a kid when a gun is placed in their hand and they start killin'. You ain't gonna kill anymore!" he said and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Let go of me!" she cried. "Father! Remy!"

"Those fake tears don't fool me! I've seen what you kids do out there! That's how they get you to get us, but you don't got me!"

"Father!" she choked on her sobs, feeling the man pull her away from everyone and no one seemed to notice.

Sesshomaru stood outside, directing everyone inside. People cried and grabbed at his collar. A few people scratched at his neck when he tried to pull them off.

"Help me!" one woman shouted, grabbing at him. "Please, my lord…make this stop!"

A young guard approached him. "Sir, it's filling up in the infirmary and there is no more room in the living room. Perhaps we could use the second floor."

Sesshomaru rubbed the back of his neck. Samara and Kimora's room was there. He needed to move them now. He walked up the steps and there was a sharp pain in his chest when he heard Samara.

"Father! Father! Aggghhhhhh!"

Sesshomaru pushed through everyone and entered the lobby looking around. At the same time, Cado and Remy heard the screaming and rushed in as well. Sesshomaru saw the man gripping Samara's arm and the look in his eyes told him he was insane. In a split of a second, Sesshomaru darted toward them and punched the man in the neck and dug his nails into his wrist to release his daughter. Remy grabbed the man and dragged him away. Samara was hysterical as he picked her up and brought her up the steps. Cado followed behind.

"Where's Kimora?" Sesshomaru's chest felt heavy.

Cado looked regretful. "I don't know, sir. I was called downstairs. She was in her room when I left her."

"Samara, where's Kimora?" Sesshomaru asked but Samara was crying, holding his shoulders for dear life. When they got to the second floor, they found Kimora all right; screaming at the top of her lungs, running down the hallway.

"Daddy!" she screamed and wrapped her arms around his waist, shaking. "Daddy! Is Naraku dead, is he really dead? Was it just pretend? Daddy! I want mommy, I want to go home!"

Between Samara's crying and Kimora's and the people downstairs, he felt himself break down. He shot one last glare at Cado and brought the girls back to their room.

* * *

Kagome was still in pajamas when she got out of the car and ran up the steps to the D.D.C manor. Inside, she kept herself calm as she passed people all over the place in bloody bandages, shouting obscenities here and there.

"Thank goodness it got quiet…"she heard one woman say. This was quiet?

"Lady Kagome…" said a guard.

"Where are my daughters? Where is my husband?"

"Upstairs." Said the guard as he led her up the steps. Haji followed behind her.

"Who are these people?" she asked.

"Soldiers, lady Kagome. There was an invasion at General island, a terrorist attack. Someone snuck a bomb inside. There was no more room at the D.D.C and the manor is secondary to bring the wounded."

"The wounded?" Kagome's voice wavered. Sesshomaru had told her that it was used as an infirmary but she didn't expect it was actually used. There were many guards surrounding Kimora and Samara's room. Cado and Remy stood outside, their heads bowed and abashed. Kagome looked at them briefly before entering the room. Sesshomaru sat on one of the beds, Samara crying on his lap and Kimora huddled on his shoulder, her eyes red and wide as if she thought about something traumatic. She didn't even notice Kagome standing in front of her at first.

"Mommy…" Kimora's voice was hoarse.

Kagome wanted to cry at the sight of them but she had to remain strong and looked at Sesshomaru questionably.

"Hey…" Kagome said, with an assuring smile.

"Mommy, I want to go home." Kimora jumped off the bed and hugged her.

"Okay…"Kagome said and looked at Samara who was still crying. "Let me just talk with your father for a minute."

Sesshomaru stood up and Samara cried even more.

"No, don't go!"

"He's not going anywhere, ok? We're just going to be outside. Why don't you girls pack your things, ok?"

Before anyone could protest, Sesshomaru led Kagome outside. They walked away from the guards into a room near the girls' bedroom.

"What the hell happened?" Kagome crossed her arms.

Sesshomaru didn't answer and pressed himself against the wall. He, too, looked like he had seen horror. Kagome had never seen him like this and pressed a hand on his cheek. He cupped her hand and gazed at the floor.

"I am failing…"he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "failing at what?"

"It was a mistake to bring them here…a mistake to have you here."

"Come on, what are you talking about, the important thing is that they're alright and you're alright."

"They are not alright." He snapped. "I am not alright. A crazed soldier practically killed Samara tonight if I hadn't arrived on time, confusing her as a tricker."

"A what?"

Sesshomaru didn't feel the need to explain but Kagome insisted on knowing. "It is something the soldiers say when terrorists use kids on the battlefield, confusing the soldiers to have them falter any attacks…and Kimora watched the tape."

"What tape?" Kagome felt tired trying to piece everything together but he kept saying things fragmented.

"Naraku's murder…"

"Oh my god." Kagome clasped her forehead and looked over at the guards. "Where the hell was Remy and Cado during this?"

"Helping out downstairs."

"They are supposed to watch the girls all the time!" Kagome cried. "What's the point of assigning them personal guards if they are not going to be there all the time?"

"On their defense, the manor is usually safe and the girls were thought to have been in their room."

"Sesshomaru, they are nine years old! They're not going to listen all the time and they're not always going to be where you think they are."

Sesshomaru nodded and Kagome could see that she didn't need to make him feel worse than he already did. He couldn't even protect them in his own home. He would never forgive himself for it.

"Take them home with you tonight, "he said. "I will be out of contact for a while."

"No…" she shook her head and walked away. "You are not going to do this."

"Listen to me, I am very serious."

"So am I…" she spat. "You're not going to disappear out of our lives just because-"

"Just because what? Our daughter was almost killed and the other traumatized. That doesn't suffice as a liable reason for this?"

She grabbed his shoulders and looked at him pleadingly. "Please don't do this. We need you. We can do this together."

He stroked her cheek and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I cannot do this anymore, Kagome."

"Yes, you can. You don't have to come back home but we can visit like this, I don't mind. Just seeing you, at least, will be enough for me and the girls." Her eyes became misty because she could see it in his eyes that he was not going to change his mind. His mind was made up.

"I'm sorry." He said, caressing her back and she buried her face into his chest and sobbed.

*****

*****Author's note

Yes, I know. I took long. Sorry, it was busy for me at work so and writing on my current novel plus reading…it's tough but I'm a trooper and I try not to keep you hanging for too long. I hope you are not too mad…I'll work on the update a lot sooner, ok? Slow season is coming up soon and I will be home more often…hopefully.


	8. Chapter 8

"So, you want to sue your boss because he fired you for being late more than ten times." Kagome repeated after the lady. "Did I get that right?"

"Yes." The lady scoffed. "I've told him so many times that it's hard for me to wake up. I feel it's discriminatory and unjustified."

Kagome folded her hands in front of her lips and squinted. "Mmhm."

"I want to sue for a million dollars."

"Uh-"

"No…you know what, make that two million. I've suffered financially because he cut my hours."

"Mrs. Dermouth, he cut those hours because you were not there." Kagome leaned back into her chair and rubbed her temples. She had a killer headache and this situation with her client didn't make it any better.

Mrs. Dermouth scowled. "So you're just going to sit there and do nothing to help me? I mean, what kind of system are you guys running here?"

Kagome sighed and straightened her blouse. Before she could reply, Yura entered looking extremely apprehensive.

"You have an urgent phone call that cannot wait."

Kagome bolted upright and studied her face. "Is it… Sesshomaru?" She felt like she swallowed a rock and her throat became dry instantly.

Yura's brow twitched. "No, uh…it's the boss. He said you're late for the conference meeting, remember? It started ten minutes ago. You need to leave right now."

Conference meeting? Kagome looked at Yura questionably but soon realized what was going on and played along. "O-oh, right. Oh my god, that was today? I am so in trouble. Mrs. Dermouth, we're going to have to reschedule. This is... I really must go."

"Right now?" Mrs. Dermouth stood up and grabbed her purse. "I want to know if you can help me or not. I need justice. I am being treated unfairly."

"Mrs. Dermouth, I do extremely apologize but my job is on the line. What I can do is refer you to one of the best lawyers in our firm. His name is Carl Hanes."

"Carl Hanes?" Mrs. Dermouth frowned. "I've never heard of him."

"Really? He wins almost ninety-nine percent of his prosecuted cases. He won the case between Meres versus Macy's last year."

"I thought that was you."

"No, no, no…it was completely him." Kagome led her out of the office. "You'll find him upstairs at the office in the end. I must go now, Mrs. Dermouth." She closed her office door and scurried down the hallway with Yura. Mrs. Dermouth protested but her voice was lost in the crowded hallway within seconds.

Yura sighed contently. "No need to thank me but should you do so, there is a pair of Prada shoes I saw on fifth ave that are to die for and-"

"Don't do that again…I mean thank you but you scared me."

"What? How? I saw your face through the window. You look like you needed help."

"I did but I just…never mind." Kagome sighed as they turned down the hallway.

"Still haven't heard from him?" Yura gave her a sympathetic look.

Kagome shook her head. "No…whatever I hear about him is from the press, other than that, I have no clue where he is. His father doesn't either."

"I can't believe he just left you guys like that. I never thought he could do that. I mean, demons don't really abandon their families."

"He didn't abandon us. It's complicated…"

"You're defending him." Yura glowered. "You always do that."

"Because I know him. It's his job. He has to do it."

"But you are his wife and you both have daughters to take care of. Besides, you're a woman too; you have needs, don't you? You need someone who will be there with you all the time, and what are you to do about sex? He just expects you to remain celibate while he's off in other countries doing his _job_?"

"Yura!"

"What?" Yura rolled her eyes. "It's a very reasonable question. You're not a nun and you are not even thirty yet, you have a lot to offer a man."

"Not everyone is like you, Yura. I'm not always thinking about sex."

"Yeah, ok…you're only kidding yourself." Yura scoffed and looked at her nails.

"Why do you do this?" Kagome said. They entered the elevator and a few other people rushed in before it closed. "You're supposed to comfort me and tell me everything will be all right."

"That's his job. Mine is to tell you the truth. You're practically a single woman again. I know there is a huge line of guys waiting to go out with you."

A few men in the elevator turned their heads slightly at Kagome and smirked. She cleared her throat and looked at the numbers on the screen as the elevator went down. When they reached the lobby, they headed toward the cafeteria.

"Keep your voice down. You're letting everyone know the details of my life."

"News flash, Kagome…" Yura got in line in front of the buffet. "Have you seen the newspaper? Everyone knows the details of your life. It's as clear as day that Sesshomaru is never around for you and the girls. Okay, so his job is important. So is the President of the United States of America and yet you see him all the time in photos with his family."

"This is just a small bump in our marriage. We'll get through this. I married him knowing how important and time consuming his job was."

"Kagome….he is a workaholic! There will always be 'important' things. The girls are almost ten in a month. Will he even be there for their birthday? Samara is always cranky and depressed and crying at night over him. Kimora still has her nightmares. You sleep in a king sized bed all by yourself. You need to give him an ultimatum. It's his job or you guys."

"I can't do that." Kagome let out a devastated sigh. "If it were that easy…actually, I think I may have tried but it's just not fair. This is something he's been waiting for his whole life. If he stands down, he will disappoint the clan and he will disappoint his parents, especially his mother."

Yura placed a strand of her black hair behind her ear and grabbed a tray. "I know you said it was for a little while but last year you saw him like, what, twice? Then there was that period of two months where you didn't hear from him at all. So you had that intimate moment on Christmas. Is that supposed to be it? You are young, you need-"

Kagome frowned as Yura went on. It seemed she really did tell her everything. "Ok, Yura…enough. I know this already. But love is supposed to be patient and kind and never-"

"Don't give me that 'A walk to remember' crap. You didn't even like that movie."

"It was alright..." Kagome shrugged and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket not feeling hungry. The pain in her head became more intense as they continued to speak about him.

"I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear this but it's just so tiring to see you go through this. When we first met in college, I remember being jealous of you that you were going out with one of the hottest and most powerful demons in our time and now I'm not. You're my friend and you deserve better. Guys look at you all the time and ask you out all the time, next time, maybe you should say yes. I'm not saying to have sex with them or anything but you really need the companionship and perhaps an ego booster; a reminder to tell you that you are still sexy and beautiful and wanted."

Kagome didn't say anything; she just nodded. They paid for their lunch and went to take a seat in the middle of the café. She was a little annoyed by Yura but knew that she meant well. She glanced at her watch and looked around. People were staring like they always did, whispering amongst themselves about the gossip they heard that morning, mostly about her. The other day she had been in the bathroom stall when she overheard a couple of girls saying how Sesshomaru had finally found a demon mate and that was why he was never around. She knew the truth and she knew that wasn't the case but what she couldn't understand was why had he decided to leave them alone in order to protect them. It still didn't make any sense to her.

It had only been less than a month since he'd seen Kagome and his daughters but it might as well have been forever. There wasn't much to go on Naraku's death and the case had closed leaving him with no leads. He looked out the window and watched the civilians of Germany tend to their daily lives. Sara came in with a cup of coffee.

"Sorry I took so long but they made a mistake with your coffee and I had to wait for a new one." She said. She set the cup on his desk and looked at him when he didn't respond. He stood by the window, his hands in his pockets, lost in his thoughts. "Sir?"

Sesshomaru bristled over his shoulder. "Is there any word on General Becker?"

"General Becker was stuck in traffic but should be here shortly." Sara said.

"Notify me when the General arrives. In the meantime, what else can you brief me on?"

Sara straightened her blouse as she sat down and opened a folder. "Bishop Giovanni sends his thanks for sending your men to the Vatican to fix the issue. The suspects were found in an underground nightclub."

"Demons?"

"Actually, humans." She said, surprisingly. "They call themselves Angelos."

Sesshomaru nodded. He'd heard of them before. They were an underground group that formed a long time ago when integration between humans and demons went into effect; the irony of a group that called themselves 'Angels' when they were anything but. They were vicious, merciless and they did inhuman things in the name of whatever god they believed in.

"I see." He said and turned from the window. He rubbed his face, sat down and grabbed his coffee from the desk. "Has the D.D.C reported any more suspicious letters?"

"None…"she said and bowed her head. "Actually, they said that since you left, there were no more tampered parcels or any threat at all."

He frowned. "…and the autopsy, have they considered my proposal to run a second one?"

"Not yet, my lord." She said and lifted her gaze at him. He was so tired and his face, although beautiful as when she first met him, was gaunt and lifeless. His expression was always unreadable but his eyes could never conceal the truth. He was sad. He stirred his coffee quietly in thought. Sara watched him sympathetically and closed the folder. She wished she could do something to make him happy. The past few weeks, since they left New York, she was stuck by his side for almost every second and she started to understand him more. She knew when to leave him alone and when he needed her right away and what not to say.

She stood up from her seat and went to stand by him. "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"No."

"Your father continues to call and he becomes uneasy each time that you won't return his calls. He says that what he has to say is important. What should I tell him?"

Something was always important with that man even when it really wasn't. Sesshomaru looked up from his coffee and the effort to lift his head was tremendous. He hardly had any energy or perhaps he felt his body giving up at how futile it was. Things were better when he wasn't around which made it simple. He could never go back. But as simple as it may be, he had to go back. He couldn't leave them alone.

"Tell him that I am busy." He said and he was lost in his thoughts again. She watched him carefully as he drummed his fingers against the desk. Despite knowing the stresses in his life, he still looked calm and relaxed. She sometimes questioned if he even missed his family at all. He also didn't wear his wedding ring anymore and his questionable availability made it tough on a girl not to wonder. Lana warned her but it couldn't be helped. She was always with him and it was hard not to fall for someone who was smart, handsome, and focused on fixing every problem in the world. It was extremely admirable and there was also the sense that he'd been vulnerable from spending so many nights alone. She was spelled every time he looked at her and it was a mean and selfish thing to desire, but she hoped he would never return to his family again.

"Have you spoken to your family?" she couldn't help but ask, and by family, she meant wife.

"No." he snapped out of his thoughts and glared at her.

She looked away from his scrutinizing gaze and leafed through the folder again. She had to make a mental note to not say the first thing on her mind out loud. While she scanned through the folder to look attentive, he watched her, studiedly. He knew it was silly to be suspicious of her but it seemed everyone was a suspect these days, especially if they inquired about his family.

After he met with General Becker, who he was surprised to find out was a woman; they spoke about forming allies and tactical procedures over an hour. It couldn't be helped that General Becker was blatantly flirting with him, which annoyed Sara to witness. After politely turning her down and promising her for a dinner that would never come, he and Sara left and went back to their hotel in Berlin.

When he got to his room, his body gave in and collapsed onto the bed. He didn't have strength left. Would he never see Kagome and his daughters again? His eyes closed right away and he quickly fell into a dream. They weren't dreams but memories; fragmented memories throughout the years of him and Kagome and the twins. Good times and bad times. Their faces were hardly visible and their voices were soft echoes in his mind.

"_Daddy, Daddy, Mawa took my ice scweam!"_ It was Kimora, a memory from when she was two.

"_Why are you late again? This happens every time. No, I don't want to hire a babysitter to watch our kids; we should be the ones watching them." _Kagome stormed out of the bathroom towel drying her hair.

Samara's amber eyes came into view and she was twirling around in a dress. _"Father, look at me! look at me!"_

"_Daddy, why don't you smile much? Are you mad? Is it because Samara is a stinky butt_?" Kimora laughed. That night she bugged him during his paperwork because she wanted to watch a movie with him.

Kimora's apparition faded and the memory changed into a night he and Kagome were in bed. He remembered that moment vividly, it was a beautiful memory that turned bitter. They were about to make love but it turned into an argument when Kagome mentioned they should have another child.

It had been a long day at work and Kagome had surprised him with lingerie. They were both entranced in each other's gazes, kissing intently and forgetting about whatever problems there might be.

"_Let's have another baby…"_she said into his ear. They had discussed this plenty of times that he lost his patience and got off of her. _"Wh—what did I say?"_

"_We spoke about this."_ He had told her.

"_Well, we haven't spoken about it in a long time. The girls are seven; I think it's safe now. I mean, we can try for a boy this time." _She smiled and pulled him back to the bed.

"_No."He let go of her hand._

Kagome looked at her hand, glowering at being shunned._ "Who's going to take after you, have you thought about that? You're the last of the male bloodline. Kimora and Samara can't lead."_

"_I already know this. You need to stop listening to my mother."_

"_It's not only her!"_ Kagome cried. _"I have to hear it everywhere I go. 'Who's going to take over?' 'It's the last of the Shiro Inu clan.' People are getting upset at me because I didn't bear you a son and as a result, the Shirohyoma tribe will take over and everything that you and your father did will be for nothing. Everything will go back to the way it was. Demons will be segregated from the humans again and hanyous, they will be treated unfairly, don't you care for Kimora's future!"_

"_That is enough!"_ he hissed. _"Why do you presume to think I am not considering the future of our daughters?"_

"_Because it doesn't look like it. You've been saying for years that it was too soon and maybe when the girls are older and now they are older and you still don't want to. What are you afraid of? You think that maybe if we do have another child, the child is going to come out as another half-breed, you're just…you're embarrassed by it! You don't want to have to go through more humiliation, that's what this is all about!"_

"_Do not make such accusations. We will not discuss this anymore."_

"_I'm entitled to my own decision and I want to have another child."_

"_We aren't going to and you will just have to accept that."_

"_This is stupid. You're so selfish! Everything has to go your way. If I were a demon, I bet this would be different."_

He refrained from raising his voice; it took a lot of control. She always knew how to get to him. _"Yes, you are right. You are not a demon and that is why I stand firm by my decision."_

"_I knew it."_

"_It is not for the reasons that you think."_ He rested a hand on her shoulder and she shrugged it off.

"_Yeah..."_ She said and got up from the bed. _"right."_

That memory faded into another one. The last time he saw Kagome.

"_Stay with me…"_ she pleaded. _"Please…stay with me."_

He woke up, his hand instinctively reaching next to him, feeling for a warm body that wasn't there. He sat up, rubbed his head and looked at the clock beside him. What was he doing? He was wasting time. He had another meeting in a few hours. In the meantime, he'd dig around more.

It was a tough new semester for the girls. Inutaisho academy was now a haven for gossip instead of a prestigious edifice for academia. Students crowded around, whispering the latest news about where Lord Sesshomaru disappeared off to, again.

"My mother told me Lord Sesshomaru has a mistress in Europe, and that he has a son there that is a full demon."

"I was told he is trying to leave his wife and kids because they aren't fit for royalty. It's about time he realized it."

Kimora sat by herself in the cafeteria while Samara lounged with the full demons such as Denali, Lahira and Gareth. They were engrossed in their own conversations while Kimora had to put up with the gossip around her. Did Samara not care what they were saying about their family? Since their father left, Kimora hardly spoke a word to Samara or to anyone for that matter. She couldn't shake the feeling that the reason why her father left was because of her.

"_Why do we have to leave, daddy? Is it because I wasn't strong enough to fight Samara? I'll do better, I promise!"_ she had cried.

"_This is not your doing, Kimora."_ He said, buttoning her coat. _"Please understand that."_

But she couldn't understand. Why did he have to leave so sudden? Why was her mother crying every night? She didn't want to go home anymore. Samara spent most of the time on the phone with Denali idolizing her and her family. Mom was different too, she thought. She walked around in a daze all the time. It had to be because of her, she was always the underlying cause for problems. She remembered an argument her parents had when she had got into a fight at school. Why was she ever born or why couldn't she have come out full demon like Samara? Grandpa says daddy is in Europe, should I go and get him; promise him that I'll do better? She reasoned in her mind, pleaded with false hopes that she had not noticed a shadow towering over her.

"You're the general's daughter, aren't you?" the voice was soft, a whisper almost.

Kimora looked over her shoulder; the boy standing in front of her wasn't anyone she recognized in school. Then her mind made a mental recap, the boy was new. He just started today. Abraham, was it? No, but it was something like it.

"Yeah, so." She said, and forked her potato salad around.

"I was just wondering why you looked so familiar." He said. "My name is Arahim. May I sit with you?"

"Um…"she started to protest but he went to sit anyway. Was this boy suicidal? Any chance at winning the popular clans over was out the window now. She was the harbinger of death when it came to popular status which almost happened to Samara when she realized it herself and got away as soon as possible.

"I know what you are thinking…"he said and opened his carton of milk. "Why am I sitting with you?"

Kimora blinked and looked away shamefully. Was her unwelcoming expression that noticeable? She didn't want to be rude but it seemed these days it was more of an act of defense when it came to the cruel youkai kids looking for trouble. She had to stay out of trouble. She didn't want to make her mother's life more miserable and she wanted her father to come back.

"I don't feel like talking about my family…and that's all everyone seems to want to talk about." He continued. "I really hope you don't mind."

"No…"she said, looking up she saw her sister and Denali staring with their mouths dropped. Actually, everyone in the cafeteria was staring.

"Mind them…"he scoffed. "It is the same everywhere. This endless cycle of a naïve culture that doesn't want to realize, is on the road to extinction."

"What?"

"Nothing, sorry…I'm just…bitter. I move around a lot so I can never catch my bearings. What is your name?"

"Kimora…"

"So you're the twin that's a hanyou, am I correct?"

Kimora suddenly felt defensive and frowned. Noting it, he raised a hand defensively.

"If anything, you should be ashamed to think of it as an accusation. It is what you are, you should not be insulted."

"That's because most people use it as an insult."

"It must be tough to be a hanyou in a school full of youkais; like a mouse in a cage filled with cats."

Kimora didn't like his analogy and shifted in her seat, keeping her back to him. Arahim bowed his head, his green eyes studying her.

"Forgive me. I can't seem to say anything right."

"It's not your fault, I guess. You are a full demon."

He smiled. "Touché."

They sat quietly next to each other, Kimora often sneaking glances at him. His hair was blacker than night, tied into a long braid that went down his back. His uniform looked befitting even though most of the boys at school wore the same thing, it looked better on him. The markings on his face were ones she didn't recognize. The clan her father ruled was huge and consisted of different members: The cat demons from the Nekochiba tribe, The EdoShiba; tribe of the wolves, Sakana; water demons, Kurohebi; snake demons. There were a lot of tribes that chose not to follow him, Arahim's family could have been one of them.

"I should go. There are some books I want to check out in the library. Feel free to join me."

"That's alright…"she said and he smiled again.

"Then I will see you later, Kimora."

And he left. She didn't have a moment to take her next breath of air when Samara and Denali showed up at her table. It wasn't long before everyone else in the cafeteria joined in. Kimora looked around questionably, her fork still hovering over her untouched food.

"What was that about?" Denali scowled.

"What was what about?"

"Who was that?" Samara asked, her arms crossed.

"The new kid? I don't know, he said his name is Abraham or something like that."

"Arahim." Denali corrected. "Kimora, do you know who that was?"

"No, should I?" Kimora looked at Samara who shrugged also.

Denali scoffed. "I can't believe you guys don't know. Well, it does make sense; perhaps your family doesn't want you to know the competition. That is Arahim, son of Sasuke Hideko and Mileni Hideko."

Samara then realized who they were and felt stupid for not knowing sooner. She looked at Kimora, hoping she would read her face and not ask the question she knew Kimora was about to ask.

"and they are…" Kimora cocked a brow and everyone around the table laughed and smacked their heads saying 'Oh my god, is she serious?' Samara dropped her head into her hands.

"Kimora, they are the descendants of the Shirohyoma tribe, did you not see his marks? He is the grandson of the elder Han Hideko, leader of the white panthers. I cannot believe he was talking to you, him out of all people!"

Kimora was quiet as she thought about it. It was no wonder why she didn't recognize those markings on his face. They were markings of a culture that had gone into hiding for more than four hundred years. The Shirohyoma tribe was notorious in their days when they ruled the nations of demons from around the world and followed the ancient ways. Humans were the bottom of the food chain and hanyous were an abomination. Before her ancestors battled Han's ancestor for the throne and won, humans were slaves and hanyous had to be careful not to be found in the wrong hands or their capture would be worse than any death.

Denali grinned. "Arahim is the next to the throne so if your father doesn't bear a son, Arahim will take over the throne. By law, he has to. No offense to you, Samara but you are a girl and therefore are disqualified. And Kimora, well, a hanyou leading a clan of demons, don't make me laugh."

Kimora gritted her teeth while everyone around her laughed. She met Samara's gaze, both exchanging the feeling of sadness and for the first time in months, they connected and could feel what the other was feeling; the sense of longing to be with their father and mother.

"Do you get it now, Kimora? You were just talking to your enemy. Even if your father bore a son with your human mother, he wouldn't be fit to lead. We need someone strong, someone who comes from noble blood and honor. "Denali chuckled. "What can you do about it? Nothing…all you can do is watch as your father's empire falls down. Everyone can see it, including your father, which is why he left you."

"Be quiet, Denali." Samara scolded. "You insult me too."

"Sorry, Samara, but I don't blame you for being born from an unfortunate family. It must be so tough to wake up and see a human mother leading such a human life and forcing it upon you. They should just take her and Kimora out of the equation and perhaps everything would be perfect."

Everybody gasped as Kimora stood up and threw her tray to the side. She growled, bearing her teeth at Denali, her eyes red with anger. "Do not talk about my mother that way or…or I will kill you."

Denali took a while before she could regain her composure and gave a nervous laugh. "Oh please, what can a half breed d-"

Before she could finish, the table Kimora was just sitting at, flipped over and Kimora was rushing toward her. All the kids around screamed as Kimora grabbed Denali and swung her to a nearby wall. Samara tried to stop her but when she grabbed Kimora's arm, Kimora glared over her shoulder and hissed. She slammed into Samara's chest with her palm and Samara flew back. It was all happening fast and Kimora couldn't control it. She couldn't control her hands and feet, all she could do was watch in horror as she attacked everyone who came close to her.

Two big hands grabbed at her and she screeched, kicking her feet and flailing her hands hysterically. Cado held her tightly, Remy helped and a few others showed up.

"_Kimora?"_ she heard, a voice scared and trembling. She recognized it as Samara's but she couldn't reply. _"What's wrong with her?"_

All the voices merged together and she could no longer understand anyone. She suddenly became calm and her body heavy. Trying to move, her body became limp as Cado carried her away and that was the last thing she remembered.

Please review***

And again, sorry for the wait.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It was all a blur when Kimora came to. She could hear voices in the next room and she knew she was in the nurse's office. She didn't have to open her eyes but the smell of alcohol swabs and adhesive strips filled her nose and that was enough of a dead giveaway. Mumbled voices sounded in the next room, a few she recognized. Why was Koga here? She picked up her head and it felt heavy as if a rock were lying on top of it. What happened? She remembered she was in the cafeteria talking to the new kid and then…?

She couldn't remember after that. She sat up, winced at the lights above her and clasped her forehead. Did she faint? Slowly it came back to her. Denali. She remembered Denali was yapping away and her blood felt hot in her veins. Oh no, Kimora sunk her shoulders. She must have gotten into another fight. She looked at her nails, some were chipped and she could see congealed blood in the crevices. Gross! Immediately hopping off the bed, she rushed over to the sink and started scrubbing her hands. The door opened behind her and she gasped over her shoulders wondering who it could be.

"Well, looks like my little killer is awake." Koga smirked.

"Uncle Koga…"Kimora pouted and looked over his shoulders. "Is my mom with you?"

"Nope." Koga shrugged. "Your mom is in a trial now so they couldn't get through to her. They called the manor to reach your grandparents but you're lucky I have no life and I was there to pick up the phone."

"What…happened?"

"You don't remember?" he cocked a brow.

Kimora bowed her head and thought for a moment and looked back at him frustrated. "No."

Koga sat down in a chair beside the doctor's desk and sighed. "Well, you got into a fight with one of the students here. Then you pushed your sister and tried to scratch out the eyes of your own bodyguard."

"Oh my god, I hurt Cado?" Kimora's voice broke.

Koga saw the worried look in her face and grinned. "He'll live. It was just a few scratches. They couldn't calm you down so the nurse sedated you, though I'm wondering why they have sedatives in an elementary school in the first place." He scowled at the wall in thought.

"They have them for the hanyous in the school." She looked away shamefully. "It's because we can't control our emotions and we freak out. Full demons never freak out."

"That's not true." Koga said, thinking back on the time Sesshomaru lost it in a fit of jealousy when he and Kagome broke up. Sesshomaru had punched him in the face. "Emotions are very hard to control for anyone. Sure, we demons are trained at birth to not let our emotions get in the way; it supposedly clouds our judgment but sometimes you need to listen to your emotions."

Kimora scoffed. "I got into a fight and I'm probably expelled now for _listening to my emotions_."

"Nah, I'm sure that girl deserved it. I know kids can be cruel…trust me, I was one of them."

"So what's going to happen now?"

"Well, I have to take you home." Koga got up and started scanning the cupboards above the counter. He found a bag of candy in a drawer and snickered. "Jackpot."

Kimora pondered about her punishment. Why did she always mess things up? Her father would surely find out and never come back. "Are you going to tell my mom?"

"Uh…I don't see how I can't. She will find out once her secretary gets through to her. Don't worry about it for now. You hungry? I'm starving…let's get those cheese fries you like by Times Square."

"Where's Samara?"

"Your sister is in class now."

"She hates me."

"She doesn't hate ya, she's just…I don't know....Samara."

"My mom is going to be so angry with me." Kimora groaned. They both stood quiet and looked at the door when they heard arguing outside. It was Inuyasha.

"_What the hell do ya mean Kimora's expelled? Why, because she was defending herself? I swear this school doesn't change—don't tell me to be quiet Yao! I never liked you. Where's my niece?"_ he forced the door open and looked at Kimora and then Koga.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Inuyasha barked.

"Chill, dude. I came to get Kimmy." Koga frowned. "and we're going to get cheese fries so you better relax or we're not going to invite your grumpy as—"

"Child present." Kimora muttered quickly.

Koga droned. "Ass—suming you are grumpy."

Inuyasha scoffed. "This place is unbelievable. This is my father's school and they dare pick on his granddaughter? Wait until I tell him! You're all losing your jobs!" he shouted out into the hallway. "Especially you!" he pointed at Headmaster Yao and slammed the door behind him. "I really hate that guy."

"Jeez, man…past memories haunting you or somethin'?" Koga rolled his eyes.

"Nothing changes. I'm getting real tired of this prejudice against us hanyous. You okay, Kimmy?"

Kimora nodded and looked down. "but uncle Inuyasha, it's my fault. I started the fight."

"Yeah, but that girl probably deserved it." Inuyasha paced back and forth.

"That's what I said." Koga added quietly and clapped his heads. "So….cheese fries."

"Koga, this is serious." Inuyasha scolded. "They're talking about expelling her."

Koga rolled his eyes. "Come on, man, they're not going to kick her out. Your dad's not going to let that happen."

"You forget my dad isn't the general anymore. Sure, he may own the school but the rules apply to everyone equally and fairly. Even Hanyous should they not obey the rules will follow the same protocols as anyone else."

"Well, Sesshomaru-" Koga started and curled up in the chair when Inuyasha's eyes blazed.

"is not here! What can he do? He's not even in the country! He's somewhere else taking care of other crap than being here with his own fami-"

"Please stop!" Kimora shouted and then started crying. She got back up on the examination bed crumbling the wax paper over it as she curled into the fetal position.

Koga stood up from his chair and glowered at Inuyasha. "You stupid asshole, your damn mouth isn't helping!" he whispered tersely and punched him in the arm. "This isn't about you so chill. You redeem your childhood problems on your own time."

Inuyasha sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I know, I know. This is just so frustrating."

"I know it is but we have to keep it together. You and I have to take Sesshomaru's place for now and make sure the twins and Kagome keep it together! They're very vulnerable right now and the last thing they need is to know that their lives suck right now. So can we please not talk about it anymore and go get those damn cheese fries right now? Thank you!" Koga growled as he stormed out the door.

Inuyasha nodded and didn't speak about it again. He comforted his sobbing niece and they got out of there but it couldn't be helped that he scowled at every staff member of Inutaisho's academy on the way out.

* * *

Sara looked up from phone every now and then and watched her boss quietly as he dazed out the window of the car. He was fading. There was something zombielike about him. He moved normally, spoke as calm and collected as usual but there was this glitch she caught in him occasionally. When he lost himself in his thoughts, she'd notice a look of pain on his face. Not a mental type like anguish but physical pain. He'd rub his chest, drink snifters of brandy like he depended on it and his eyes, which broke her heart to see, didn't look like it slept for weeks. No one else seemed to notice. Business went along well, situations resolved effortlessly and adequately but no one saw that he was crumbling. Sara, spending time with him daily and nightly, could feel it as if the feeling were her own.

"Sir, we'll be arriving at the D.D.C manor in an hour. Should I request anything for your convenience upon our arrival?"

"That I be left alone."He said after a long pause as he registered her presence.

"Your father insists that you get back to him. My lord, he says it is imperative that you get back to him and that this time it really is imperative and he is not only saying that so you'll call him back. Should I notify him?"

Sesshomaru looked out into the sunset, he could see Manhattan over the river and somewhere between all the skyscrapers was his home; the condo where Kagome and his daughters were. "You will not notify him. I will be busy with my own agenda for the next few days and I would appreciate that no one knows I am here."

"and your wife?"

"Especially her." He said, his voice soft. Kagome couldn't know he was back. She'd look for him. He knew that. She would try to talk him out of his decision. She had called every night when he was away in Europe. Each night leaving a long voicemail as if she were just talking to him like he was right beside her. He'd play the messages by his ear until he fell asleep sometimes.

Sara bowed her head and looked down at her phone, reading each email sent by someone who needed Sesshomaru's help. She read through each one, deciding the importance behind it. They were all important but she didn't have the heart to tell him. He needed rest. He needed to be left alone. He poured himself another brandy, this time consuming it wholly and refilling it again. His head swayed side to side as the car drove over unsteady roads.

Sesshomaru felt his body limp but the pain in his chest was gone. After addressing all the issues he'd set out to fix in Europe, it was the first time he could escape his pain instead of stifling it just to keep his judgment clear. But now that he was heading back to the manor, most problems solved for now, he could afford to forget, to not feel and pretend that he was going home to Kagome instead of the cold lifeless manor he'd been living in for almost a year. He rested his head back, holding his snifter when he felt a soft hand on his slowly removing the glass. _Kagome?_ Was he back home already? His eyelids were heavy and he looked to the side, everything was blurry but he saw the midnight mane he'd see every morning in front of him when he woke up. He reached his hand out and touched the face of what he thought was his wife and remembered right away. Kagome wasn't a brunette anymore. Isabella did her hair recently. His hand retracted back as if he touched fire and sobered up right away. Sara looked stiffed and wary, her head bowed and face blushing.

He rubbed his face, inched as close as possible to the window and let the cold wind wake him up. He was ashamed to even look at Sara. What did he do? What did he almost do? He was losing his mind. How could he even confuse his wife with his secretary? He shook his head, debating whether he should explain his actions and decided to pretend it didn't even happen. How far would he have gone if he didn't realize it sooner? Drinking was dangerous but the pain was just too unbearable.

Sara couldn't stop blushing. What just happened? He was falling asleep with the drink in his hand and then when she removed it he touched her face. His hand was strong and soft, the warm sensation reached her heart and she froze. The way he looked at her, that yearning. It happened so fast, the way his eyes met hers and moved down to her lips. He was drunk. She knew that very much and did her best not to read into things but that look, it was imprinted in her mind and replayed or rather just remained on display like a painting hung on a wall in her mind. Lana said not to fall for him and she hadn't planned on it. But what if he was falling for her? She smiled at the idea and foolish notion but she was like a school girl with a crush, a crush whom she now thought she had a chance with. Was this the start of something between them? Was she just fantasizing it? No, that touch was warm and sincere. Her mind raced and she looked over at him but he never looked back for the rest of ride.

* * *

Kagome sank in her seat holding a palm over her head as Yura relayed all the messages within the last two hours. She wondered if Karma had it out for her; this was starting to seem personal. What did she do in her last lifetime, kill the last unicorn?

"Are you listening?" Yura looked up from her notes and raised a questionable brow.

"Yes…"Kagome sighed. "I'm just wondering what I did wrong to deserve this."

"It's not so bad, Kaggy. I mean, Kimora getting into another fight is old news. Who cares if the tabloids say Sesshomaru is having an affair with his secretary or if he has a lovechild somewhere in Yugoslavia, we both know it's not true."

Kagome frowned. "Why can't I keep everything under control? One daughter hates me, the other is rebelling and I have a husband who I hardly see and my body is going haywire because of the stress. My jaw hurts because of the stupid retracting fangs, I almost attacked an old lady at Starbucks for skipping me in line and I have a killer migraine."

"Uh-oh…is it one of those migraines where you start ripping things to pieces?" Yura looked around worried. "Should I go get Haji?"

Kagome sighed and then grinned. "Oh stop, it's not that serious."

Yura didn't ease. "It's not funny. Do you remember when you broke the boss's door off its hinges when he gave that serial stripper killer case to Carl?"

"It didn't break off the—that door was falling apart anyway." Kagome shook her head. "Anyway, who went to pick up Kimora then? Please tell me it wasn't my mother-in-law."

"No, it was Koga Wolf?"

"What? Koga went to pick her up?" Kagome looked at her in disbelief.

"Yeah…" Yura shrugged. "He said he was her uncle."

"and they believed him?" Kagome scoffed. "Unbelievable, I keep telling Sesshomaru that the girls would be safer in public school."

"Well, Inuyasha was with him."

"That doesn't make it any better. Those two still act like they're still teenagers and when they're together, they just attract trouble. They're going to make it seem like Kimora did nothing wrong and then they're going to cheer her up with ice cream or worse, those cheese fries she likes so much on broadway."

"Oh my god, Charlie's cheese fries? Those are so good but I'd have to run on the treadmill for a month." Yura looked out the office at Haji. He stood by the door, fully alert with his red eyes scanning around. "You think Haji likes the voluptuous type? I'd gain a hundred pounds for that guy."

Kagome grinned and straightened a pile of papers on her desk. "I don't know, Yura. It's not like we talk about it over cosmos while we're painting each other's nails."

Haji knocked on the door and entered the room. "Lady Kagome, Dr. Paulovich is here to see you. Should I let him in?"

Yura scoffed. "Stalker much? Ugh, I swear. You know how many calls he's left you this past week alone?"

Kagome sighed and waved her hand. "Let him in, Haji. It's alright. Yura, just give us a minute. I just want to get this out of the way already."

Yura mumbled under her breath and eyed the doctor evilly as he entered. Dr. Paulovich bowed his head at Haji and looked at Kagome with an apologetic smile. He was in his 60's but looked much older in his tweed suit and matching bowler hat.

"My lady, I'm sorry I had to come and interrupt you at work but you've been avoiding my calls."

"Sorry…"Kagome looked embarrassed when she had no excuse to tell him. "Uh…kind of busy here."

"I know, I know, but you've missed your appointments and I told you about the lab work that needed to be done." He pointed to the seat in front of her. "May I?"

Kagome gestured for him to take a seat and leaned back into her chair. "But I'm fine so I don't see what the big deal is, Doctor Paulovich. Is it really that important that you had to come all the way down here, I mean, did you find something out?"

"I have a friend who is a professor studying genetic and molecular mutations at a university not too far from here. He wants to meet you."

"Ok, for what?"

"I told you before, Lady Kagome. This situation that happened to you and your daughters is rare. He can probably find out. Don't you want to know how it happened?"

"Not really." Kagome rubbed her temple and twitched her lips. "I mean, if I'm not in danger and neither are the girls I'm not really worried."

"But it is in your best interest to follow the mutation. It's not to say that your body is going to stop mutating. So far that we know, your body just adapted to the foreign demon gene but I have interesting results that came in that lead to some theories of mine. I just need more time and I need your cooperation. We need to take more blood and run more tests."

The vibe in the room became tensed and it made Kagome uncomfortable. "Uh…I kind of have to go and pick up my daughter, Doctor. I'm sorry you had to come all this way."

"How about your daughters, can we schedule them for an appointment? I'd like to take some blood work from both of your daughters to test more of my theory out."

"What theory?" Kagome looked annoyed. "My daughters are not going to be lab rats, okay? And I'm not either."

"Don't you want to be a part of evolution? Your blood or your daughters' blood can probably be the key to curing a lot of debilitating diseases out there. I mean, can you remember the last time you even had a cold? You don't have to worry about aging for a long time. Many human scientists tried with demon blood to find a way to attach it to the human DNA chain but it's far too powerful and the human body either winds up rejecting it or being killed by it and you survived it, Lady Kagome, that's what makes you so different and special."

Kagome sighed. "Look, it's great and all. I'm lucky I guess but it's not something I really care to follow up with. I have other things to worry about than my DNA or blood or whatever."

Dr. Paulovich's face twitched and Kagome almost could see contempt but she just ignored it. Kagome rubbed her temples and gave an apologetic nod.

"You're getting the migraines again, aren't you?" he asked.

"It's nothing, doctor. Humans get migraines too. I'm pretty stressed out." Kagome stood up and grabbed her purse.

"Please, Lady Kagome…"Dr. Paulovich stood up quickly. "Please reconsider. You'd be a lot of help to our research."

"Okay, Doctor. I will think about it but really, now isn't a good time. I have to go."

"Of course." He bowed his head and looked at Haji who was glaring at him with a cautious stance. "I thank you for your time."

Kagome watched as Dr. Paulovich left her office and Haji walked in, glowering over his shoulder at the doctor.

"Is everything alright, my lady?"

"Yes, Haji…everything is fine." She said and noticed Haji pressed his earpiece and lowered his head. Kagome read Haji's expression and knew he was listening to an order. "Sesshomaru is back from Europe, isn't he?"

Haji remained indifferent but after a long pause he faltered a nod. "Yes, my lady."

"What did he say?"

"I can't relay any orders, my lady, especially to you. Forgive me." He bowed his head shamefully.

Kagome sighed and walked away. "It's alright. I kind of expected you to not tell me anyway. Orders are orders…"

* * *

Sesshomaru thanked whoever created brandy. He slept for hours for the first time in weeks. Sure, he was a bit hung-over and he could still remember that embarrassing encounter with Sara the night before but he had other things to worry about. Hopefully he didn't give her the wrong idea or give her a reason to sue him for sexual harassment. He took a cold shower, donned a white thermal long sleeve over a pair of black militant cargo pants and took innumerable amounts of espresso shots that could kill a human being.

He gave Sara the day off, partly because he still couldn't look at her, but mainly because she'd be in the way. It was odd that there was no situation that needed his immediate attention so he counted his blessing and went on to do what he'd been meaning to do the night he left Kagome: find out who the hell's been threatening his family and killed Naraku. He grabbed his coat, ignored everyone who came at him with questions or requests and rushed to his car. When he got his hands on the demon who dared defy him, everyone in the world would not doubt him again. Perhaps he did go soft when he married Kagome and had the girls but it was only toward them. They were his weakness and it was apparent to everyone but that didn't mean he'd show mercy to anyone who had the nerve to challenge him.

Sesshomaru drove for about ten minutes when he realized he had no clue where he was going. He had no trail, nowhere to start and he punched the steering wheel. He needed to start over. There was something he was definitely overlooking. There always was. Where did he need to start, was it with Naraku? The threat letters? Was it the accident last year when they shot at him and ran him over a bridge? He grew frustrated as he weighed the possibilities in his mind; his thoughts displayed every person he'd incarcerated. But everyone was in jail and he made sure of it. And then there was the question of why Naraku? Why not his brother or Koga or his father? Why was it an old friend whom he'd lost contact with over the years?

He thought back to that night when he and the vice president were in the car heading toward his condo for dinner with Kagome and his family. They were talking business as usual. Sesshomaru thought it strange that someone was following close behind them on such a deserted road and told the driver to speed up and take another road. When the truck made the same turn, he grabbed his berretta but before he could turn, the truck rammed their bumper and sent them skidding to the side. When they resumed control, they were hit again, this time bullets piercing the car. The windows were bullet proof but some bullets managed to go through the trunk and into the carrier piercing the Vice President in the head, Sesshomaru in the chest and the driver in the arm.

Sesshomaru opened the window, started shooting at the truck missing his assailants by inches with the car traversing out of control. The assailants were all dressed in white, with white masks and something around their neck that he couldn't make out. He shot one of them in the leg and they closed the side door they were shooting from eventually hitting them one last time sending them over a bridge. The driver died instantly and Sesshomaru crawled out of the car after waking up from an unconscious state. The car was on fire and members of the D.D.C were already arriving to help him out. The truck was nowhere to be found. It just disappeared into the night.

Sesshomaru replayed the night in his mind, hoping something new would come up but every detail was the same as it was that very night. White masks and white clothes and a white truck. He narrowed his eyes out the windshield in deep contemplation as he speculated the correlation. Was it ironic that everything was white or was there a meaning behind it? The shots were also uncoordinated and very random, not a trait of professional marksmen. The thought of his attackers being amateurs angered him and stung his ego. Thinking so highly of himself had him caught by surprise and denying guards for protection to keep his pride resulted in the death of a vice president not to mention that his attackers were so close to home.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he pulled up toward the bridge that led to the D.D.C. So much for keeping a low profile but it seemed his subconscious state knew that whatever answers he was looking for he'd find there. What he hadn't expected to find was Sara in his office organizing the files on his desk.

"What are you doing here?" he said, his tone anything but polite when he closed his office door behind him.

Sara stood erect and brushed her hair behind her ear. "I-I didn't know you were coming, sir. I thought you were going to stay at the manor for a few days like you said you would. I was just organizing these files for you."

"I gave you the day off."

"Yes, I know but I had nothing to do and I don't mind if I'm not getting paid. I wanted to do this." She smiled and he looked away annoyed as he sat down at his desk.

"I do not like it when people disobey my orders." He said, looking at the pile of folders resting neatly on his desk.

Sara cleared her throat and handed him a folder. "I'm sorry, my lord, it won't happen again. I do think you should see this though."

"What is it?" he said, his amber eyes meeting hers and she looked away as if she'd just looked straight at the sun and it scorched her eyes.

"I was looking at your report on the day of your incident a year ago and it reminded me something that I saw in the reports on the Vatican murders that happened a month ago."

Sesshomaru was about to add that looking into those reports were confidential and she needed approval from him first to look through them but he decided to hear her out. She looked at him expectantly waiting for acknowledgment but he just stared. She continued on when she realized that was as much acknowledgement as she was going to get.

"Anyway…"she tried to remain calm as she opened the folder. "Remember those kids that our men arrested at the Vatican, um…_Angelos_? Well, your description of the men in the truck that shot at you matches what the kids were wearing the day they were arrested."

Sesshomaru leaned forward interested. He never even looked into the report once and had dismissed it as trivial matters letting other people in the department to deal with it. Sara opened the folder and showed him a photo of two kids wearing white and rosaries around their neck. Another photo behind it were the masks they were wearing. Those same white masks he'd seen that night. They were plain porcelain white masks, nothing out of the ordinary but now Sesshomaru was convinced there was a correlation. The people that committed those crimes in the Vatican were the same people that shot at him. _Angelos_…Angels. Sara watched him carefully as he lost himself in his thoughts again and was surprised to see his lips curl into a grin. He had a lead.

* * *

Thanks to everyone who has been patient during my updates. I try to update as quick as I can and I get lost in work that I don't realize months pass by since my updates. I don't know if I let many of you know this but I've also been working on my own novel. It's hard to say when I'll publish it but some of you know that I do finish my work, even if it takes me a long time. I hate to leave a story unfinished. If I left it unfinished in the past, it's only because I lost the story through computer problems.

Please find me on Facebook if you're interested or have any questions. I think you can find me through my email Nekochanyana AOL


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Kagome paced back and forth in the living room debating whether to strangle Koga and Inuyasha. Not only did they pick Kimora from school after the fight, they didn't bring her straight home. It was a little past 3pm and she had to re-schedule with her client for the third time. She had cases piling up faster than she could breathe and she had to take time out to talk to her daughters. _Oh, Sesshomaru, why does it have to be this way? I could really use your help._

Samara was in the kitchen doing her homework. Remy and another guard stood in the doorway watching her. Haji knew better than to follow Kagome around when she was pacing and thinking. He stood by the door, watching her perplexedly.

"I'm going to kill them." She looked at Haji. "I'm going to murder them and make it look like an accident."

"My lady…" Haji cleared his throat. "If you would just-"

"Don't tell me to calm down, Haji! They practically kidnapped Kimora, where the hell is Cado?"

"Cado is with them, my lady."

"Well, who does he report to anyway? It's been three hours since they picked her up from school."

There was a knock at the door and another guard answered it. The door opened ajar and someone was waving a white napkin.

"We come in peace." Koga's voice sounded behind the door. "Before you make a move, hear us out…"

"Get in here." Kagome gritted.

The guard opened the door fully and Koga quickly hid behind Inuyasha and Kimora. Kimora was caught holding a box of cheese fries.

"You took her to Charlie's?"

"Well, you see…we were hungry…and…you know, Ch-Charlie's is kind of on the way home….and-"

"Charlie's is not on the way home and you picked her up three hours ago!" Kagome crossed her arms.

Inuyasha and Koga shared a look then looked at her.

"Traffic." They uttered simultaneously.

"Kimora, get in here now!"

Kimora handed Inuyasha the box of fries and walked in slowly with her head bowed.

"What happened?" Kagome asked, her eyes ablaze.

Kimora grabbed a strand of her hair and covered her eyes. "I don't remember."

"You were in a fight, do you remember that? I have been back and forth on the phone between Denali Sambe's parents and Headmaster Cho."

"Am I expelled?" Kimora asked, her voice trembling._ Please don't let me be expelled or daddy will never come home._

"I don't know yet, Kimora. I have a meeting with them tomorrow!"

"Kagome, relax, they're not going to-"Koga paused and looked at Inuyasha. "I mean, doesn't their grandfather have the power to shut down the school if he wanted to?"

"Not anymore." Kagome sighed. "And I can't get in touch with Sesshomaru so he probably doesn't even know what is going on."

Koga and Inuyasha sat on the couch when the doorbell rang. The guard answered it again and looked back confused.

"There is an Arahim to see Lady Kimora?"

Everyone looked confused. "What?"

The young boy pushed through the door holding a folder. He smiled at them and bowed his head.

"Lady Kagome, a pleasure. I've heard so much about you."

Koga scowled. "What things?"

"Koga, stop." Kagome smiled. "I'm sorry, Arahim. I know most of the kids from school. I've never seen you."

"I just transferred."

"Well, Kimora isn't allowed company right now."

"I understand. I came to bring her homework since we have the same classes."

Samara shot a baffled look at Kimora who looked just as stunned. She cautiously walked over to him and grabbed the folder.

"Um…thanks." Kimora ignored the looks from anyone.

"We have a chemistry exam tomorrow. I highlighted the areas that will be on the test. Call me if you have any questions." Arahim said as he handed her a piece of paper with his phone number on it.

There was another knock on the door and a man walked in. Kagome's eyes widened to see Sasuke. He looked just as surprised to see her.

"Kagome…" he said.

"Sasuke?" she tittered. "What are you doing here?"

Koga snarled. "Oh, not this douchebag again…"

Inuyasha leaned closer. "Who's that?"

"Kagome's ex. Sesshomaru pressed me hard about this guy. I'm not getting in trouble again."

"Father, you know Lady Kagome?" Arahim said, darting his eyes between Kagome and his father.

"Uh-yes…she's…a longtime friend. Sorry to come uninvitingly, but Arahim stressed that he needed to drop off homework to a classmate. Such a small world to see that it was your daughter."

"Yeah…"Kagome laughs. "I guess so. Um…would you like something to drink before you leave? I have coffee, juice…"

Sasuke gave a partial grin. "No, we should be-"

"I'd love something to drink, " Arahim stated. "Besides, I'd like to explain to Kimora about our upcoming project for English class."

"Upcoming project?" Kimora questioned.

"Oh, yes. Mrs. Gretchen asked that we partnered with someone to create a story for class. I proposed that you and I collaborated."

"Um…okay, but I…"Kimora looked at everyone and then at him. " You should probably look for someone else, Arahim. I might be expelled."

Arahim laughed. "I doubt they'll expel the general's daughter. Maybe a punishment would suffice. Lady Kagome, perhaps you should mediate that Kimora get community service instead of dealing with the cruelty of expulsion."

Kagome just stared at Arahim as if she were talking to her co-workers at work. Arahim definitely had lawyer potential.

Sasuke shook his head. "Forgive him. He watches a lot of Law and Order."

"It's a good show." Kagome smiled as she walked to the refrigerator and poured Arahim an iced tea. "How about you kids go into the study to do your homework and let the grown- ups talk.

Kagome led Arahim, Kimora and Samara down the hallway to the study leaving Sasuke alone with Koga and Inuyasha. After a period of awkward silence, Sasuke cleared his throat and looked at Koga.

"So we meet again." He said.

"Yep." Koga picked his tooth and glared at him.

"Kagome tells me you're very good friends."

"Does she now?" Koga said. "Did she mention that I'm also good friends with her husband, you might know him…the general?"

Sasuke forced a smile as he shifted in his seat. "Yes, the general. I do know."

Inuyasha glared at Sasuke as well. "Do you know my brother, the general?"

"I can't say I've had the pleasure of meeting him, no."

"Hmph…"Inuyasha scoffed.

"That's odd because he knows a lot about you." Koga muttered as he leaned back into the couch, throwing his arms behind his head. "He has pictures of you and Kagome having lunch together the other day."

Sasuke looked nervous. "D-does he now? Well, it was a friendly lunch. We were just catching up."

"Mmhm, didn't look that way." Koga scowled.

"You misunderstand. I respect Kagome and her marriage."

Kagome came back and let out a huge sigh. "Wow, kids, huh? So, what were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing." They all said.

Kagome looked suspiciously at them for a moment then landed her eyes on Koga and Inuyasha.

"Don't you guys have somewhere to be now?"

"Nope." They both said.

Kagome squinted at them and rolled her eyes. The air was thick with tension. "Wine anyone?"

"Please…"they all said.

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Sesshomaru alighted from his private jet, placing his Gucci shades on. Sara followed behind holding stacks of folders in hand. They were immediately led to a limo to meet Bishop Giovanni at the Vatican. Sesshomaru was very distant from Sara the past few days. He wasn't dense. He knew very well she was started to become attracted to him. It didn't help that he unintentionally made a pass at her while under the influence of brandy. Being away from Kagome so long, the pain wasn't easy to deal with but drinking made it very vulnerable for him to make a mistake. What if Sara acted on her emotions, and he was delirious enough to think she was Kagome. Being unfaithful was low and frowned upon to any species whether human or demon. Even though there was conflict of interest, he had no time to find another secretary so he just had to put up with her puppy love.

"My Lord, would you like to look at the files again?" she said. The past few days Sara had gone under an extreme makeover. It was a little ironic that her wardrobe and hairstyle resembled Kagome's.

"Hand them to me." He said and she did. She brushed her fingers against his and he retracted his hand quickly. His cellphone rang and he answered it. "What news?"

Sara watched as he listened in and nodded. Her stomach fluttered as she watched every single move of his lips, his face, his hands. He removed his shades and his amber eyes looked out of the window. The sunset met his eyes and she had almost wanted to claw her eyes out he was so beautiful.

"You tell Headmaster Cho that if he continues to threaten my wife about expelling my daughter that I will have him impaled at the DDC execution court." Sesshomaru spat. "And what else?"

Sara admired the way he defended his wife even though he was thousands of miles away. It also made her jealous beyond belief. She saw his face turn pale and wondered what he was just told.

"What do you mean he was at my house? Who invited him? How long did he stay? Were they alone?"

There was another long pause as he listened to his cellphone. Sara was startled when he crushed his phone into pieces.

"That man has a lot of nerve…"

"What's wrong, sir?"

"Nevermind…I need a new phone." He spat.

Sara was already on top of it. She searched on the internet for cellphone stores around the Vatican and called ahead to purchase a phone and activate it.

"Done." She said. She was so proud that she handled it in seconds but frowned when he didn't acknowledge it. He lit a cigarette and glared out the window.

They met Bishop Giovanni at the Government Palace where he led them down an underground corridor. Swiss guards stood at their posts every few feet as they walked past to a large wooden door under St. Peter's Basilica.

"You are very lucky, Lord Sesshomaru. They are being transported to the states tonight to receive the punishment they deserve. They've admitted to killing 10 human tourists including a child and 5 hanyous."

"Any information about where their motives derive from? Who's issuing these actions?"

"According to them?" Bishop Giovanni looked solemnly at him. "God."

The guards opened the door, and they were escorted by another guard into a white room. A man stood up from his desk and glared at Sesshomaru.

"A demon?" the man growled. "Bishop Giovanni, how could you-"

"Relax, Joseph. He is a dear friend of mine. He is the sole reason why we have our suspects in our custody."

"But-"

"Now, don't be a burden and give us access to cells A6, A22, B5, and C2."

"I'm sorry, sir. But to bring such an unholy presence into the house of God is blasphemous; I cannot be a part of this. Demons have killed so many…"

"So have humans." Sara barked.

"What are you, his demon lover?" Joseph spat.

Bishop Giovanni sighed. "Joseph, you're sounding very ignorant right now. I urge you to-"

They all gasped as Sesshomaru gripped Joseph by the neck and lifted him up from the floor.

"I do not have the time to deal with your ignorance, Joseph! I am pressed for time so the access to these cells would be much obliged."

Joseph choked as he tried to regain his breathing and handed the cards to them with a shaking hand. Sesshomaru snatched it as he walked off, Sara struggled to keep up.

Bishop Giovanni shook his head at Joseph.

"You're such a fool, boy. That is not just any demon. He is their leader and he is married to a human and he has been our ally for years. You must learn never to judge, that is only for God to do."

Sesshomaru sat in the interrogation room and sighed. The first three guys did not want to cooperate. He was not about to give up. Hopefully, this last one would give in. They brought him in, he was no older than 18 years old. His name was Eric. When Eric sat down, Sesshomaru's eyes probed his.

"Demon!" Eric growled.

"Yes, that is correct." Sesshomaru sat across from him and lit a cigarette.

"We will murder you all." The kid said and Sesshomaru chuckled.

"I'd like to see you try."

"'Talk no more so very proudly; let not arrogance come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed..'"

Sesshomaru exhaled smoke into the air, he smirked, revealing a fang to the boy. "Ah, quoting 1 Samuel 2:3."

Eric's eyes widened. He stared at Sesshomaru for a moment and looked away.

"Don't look so shocked. I am filled with surprises." Sesshomaru took another pull of his cigarette. "So God told you to kill humans because?"

"for the cause. They were mere sacrifices for the cause. The world needs to see how Demons and Humans should not coexist. We needed people to believe Demons were killing humans again."

"But they aren't. You, humans, are. Who is filling your head with this nonsense?"

"It is not nonsense! God told us we had to do this! Anyway, you may have caught me but the Angelos, messengers of God are many and you can't catch us all. We will prevail."

"Right…" Sesshomaru looked bored. "So you're prepared to die for this? You will be killed when they send you back to the states."

Eric must have not known, his face said it all. His olive skin had gone ghostly white and his lip trembled.

"If…if I must die then…I must die." He said.

Sesshomaru refrained from smiling. He was so close to breaking him. He was just a kid, after all; a brainwashed little kid.

"It's a shame because you really don't have to die. You help me out, and with one word from me, your life is spared."

"You think you can buy me, demon! I'm prepared for my consequences."

Sesshomaru had files set in front of him containing every single little information on the boy sitting in front of him. Eric Harding, 18 years old, from Los Angeles, California. He lived in Foster care all of his life and ran away six months ago. He has a little sister in the system.

"So, you're willing to leave Stacy all by herself. She's, what, 5 years old. You're 18. You can legally adopt her and give her a good life."

Eric panted, tears pouring out of his eyes. "She's…she's better off without me."

"Better off with a stranger than her own brother? I see…perhaps I will see to it that she is taken care of."

"What do you mean by that!" Eric shoots up and reached over the table but the cuffs and chains only allow him to get so close. He was inches from Sesshomaru who contained a smirk.

"No sense in elaborating, you'll be dead by tomorrow night."

Sesshomaru was losing his patience. This boy was more resilient than he'd let on. He was sure he had him but the boy seemed dead set on dying for 'the cause.'

"I have nothing to offer Stacy! I cannot help you even if I wanted to!"

"What if I told you that you'd be free by tomorrow to pick Stacy up and be provided shelter and money until you could manage on your own? You could leave this mess behind."

"But I've killed…"

"and you could save many more now if you told me everything." Sesshomaru's expression remained firm. There was no more time to waste. He needed to end this and get back to his life.

"If I help you, they'll find me and kill me."

"I'll kill them first." Sesshomaru said, confidently.

"You promise that I'll see Stacy and we'll be safe?"

"I am a man of my word." Sesshomaru looked at his watch. "However, I am not the most patient so you need to spit this out or I might go back on-"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Eric cried. "I will tell you everything I know."

Sesshomaru smirked and looked over his shoulder at the double sided mirror behind him. He twirled his finger around for them to commence the recording.

"Talk!"

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"Your honor! Objection! He's badgering the witness!" Kagome shouted.

"sustained. Counselor., you better rephrase your question,"

The prosecutor nodded. "Alright, Mrs. Hudson, did you or did you not see Mr. Poetta in the car with Madeline on the night before she was murdered."

Kagome tried very hard not to space out. Her client kept nudging her to pay attention. Focus, Kagome, focus! She couldn't. Not after seeing Sesshomaru in the newspapers with his secretary in Germany. The photo captured Sara gazing at Sesshomaru with a smile. Sesshomaru had a smirk as well.

_Remember Kagome, photos don't capture the complete truth. He could be smiling about anything. Maybe he had a really good burrito?_ Why couldn't he just hire her as his private secretary so she could be with him 24/7. Oh, that's right, she couldn't because of the kids!

"Counselor, your witness!" the judge shouted and Kagome snapped out of it._ Come on, Kagome, you can win this!_

Later on in the day, Kagome slumped to her office feeling defeated. She lost her case. She never loses. She evaded the partner of the firm and asked Yura to make an excuse for her as she left. She needed to wallow privately in the comfort of her own home. For the millionth time, she called Sesshomaru in hopes that he'd pick up. The phone usually rang and went straight to voicemail but this time it went straight to voicemail without ringing. Did he turn off his phone? He never turned off his phone. The only times he turned off his phone is if she complained about it at night when they were making love and it would go off every second. _Don't think about it, Kagome, Don't you dare think about it._

Too late. She thought about it. She thought how Sara was seducing him and how vulnerable he was. What if he was drinking? What if he was so drunk that his senses were impaired? Kagome felt her gums tighten. _Oh no, relax, Kagome. Stop stressing out or it's going to start!_

Too late. It started. She felt her teeth extend in her mouth. She clasped her hand over her mouth and turned to Haji in pain. He rested a palm behind her neck and hailed another guard to get the car.

"Just calm down, Lady Kagome. The car is on its way. I left the medicine in the glove compartment. My apologies. You've been fine lately."

"It's okay." Kagome winced through the pain. "I just need to relax."

"Would you like me to call Dr. Paulovich?"

"No, no…"Kagome said. "Just take me home please!"

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Koga's phone rang and he looked at the number. Not recognizing it, he looked at Inuyasha and showed him the number.

"No idea, pick it up." Inuyasha said.

"What if it's an ex?" Koga groaned.

"What if it's an emergency?" Inuyasha added.

"Ugh, fine." Koga said and picked it up. "Hello—oh, Sesshomaru? What's with the new number?"

Inuyasha bit into his cheeseburger and watched Koga's expression change.

"Well, yeah, he was at her house but I—" Koga was quiet and sighed. He gestured with his hands to Inuyasha that Sesshomaru was yelling at him.

"Dude, I'm not her keeper, man. She's a grown ass woman! That guy came to the house, relax. Nothing happened. Me and Inuyasha were there."

"Dude!"Inuyasha chucked a fry at him. "Why'd you tell him that?"

Koga ignored him as he listened to Sesshomaru complain.

"His kid goes to the same school as your kids. Huh? What were they talking about? Who, the kids? Oh, Kagome, ok, stop shouting at me! They were just talking about high school and reminiscing about the past!"

Koga covered the phone with his hand. "Dude, I can't take this anymore. Your brother is driving me nuts."

Inuyasha laughed and Koga sighed.

"I know you heard that, you hear everything. What do you want me to do? Tie your wife to a pole and not let her out? You need to trust her and stop acting so psychotic!"

Koga looked around, everyone in the diner was staring at them. He looked resigned as he held his head up with his hand. "Ok, ok, my bad. You're not psychotic. But come on, this is crazy. You leave her alone for months, what do you expect? She's not a nun, dude. Girls have needs too."

Inuyasha clasped his forehead. "You shouldn't have said that, bro."

Koga pulled the phone away from his ear and dumped it onto the tray.

"Let's get out of here, man. I got a fuckin' headache now!"

Inuyasha grabbed the cellphone from the tray and pressed it to his ear.

"Hey, bro, how's Germany? What? Uh…can you stop shouting, it's me, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha cringed and pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up.

"He _is_ out of his mind." Inuyasha said.

"See?" Koga scoffed. "I told you."

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Sesshomaru and Sara headed back to the hotel in Rome. The Majestic Roma where he and Kagome stayed during their modeling era. He even booked the same room they stayed at for two months. He and Sara had just come from a meeting with Russian ministers and there was plenty of Vodka and they didn't take no for an answer.

Sara was very tipsy as she stumbled into the elevator. Her room was a few floors under Sesshomaru's. He, too, was slightly inebriated but still cognizant. Sara swayed left and right as she tried to focus on the buttons in front of her. What floor was she on again? Sesshomaru pressed for her floor then pressed his.

"So, the night's young…"she said.

He didn't look at her. He focused on his emails and messages on his phone. How dare Koga and Inuyasha hang up on him. Should he just spring up out of the blue and see Kagome. Remind her of what they have together? Is it possible she could be swayed toward that man Sasuke just because he hasn't been around for a month? She wouldn't do that. She wasn't that type of woman. She loved him, he knew that. She'd never been with anyone other than him. But he still felt a slight tinge of insecurity. This guy Sasuke was her first love. She was willing to betray her family's desires to be with him. Clearly, he was someone important that could not easily be forgotten?

The elevator stopped at Sara's floor and she got out. She imagined that the doors would close and Sesshomaru would stop it with his hand. She fantasized that he'd walk right up to her, pull her to him and kiss her passionately as he carried her to her room. But she looked back, he didn't say good night. He stared at his phone as the doors closed. Feeling disappointed, she walked to her room. This is not how she expected the night to end. He was supposed to be in her bed. She was supposed to be in his arms. They were leaving back to New York tomorrow night. She read that he and Kagome started here in Italy. This was the very hotel they stayed at and he was sleeping in the room they shared years ago. She was angry. She knew she shouldn't be but she couldn't help it. She wanted him more than she ever wanted anything.

She needed to let him know how she felt before they left for New York. She went into her room. It was beautiful and romantic but the empty bed added more to her depressed state. Sometimes, things don't happen on its own. You have to make it happen.

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Sesshomaru took a quick shower and changed into a pair of wool sweats. He lit a cigarette and grabbed a few files from the table. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and took a few sips as he went over the case again.

Eric had given him a lot of information. However, to his dismay, he had not given him a name. These type of cults always had leaders but the only thing Eric could tell him about this leader is that they called him 'Archangel'. The cults met all over but the major ones were held in New York City. Eric leaked a few safe houses he knew of in NY, and California. Sesshomaru already had the DDC on it. But he needed to catch this 'Archangel'. He was sure now that this was the person threatening him. The same person that killed Naraku.

There was a knock at his door. He stared at it for a moment, taking one more pull of his cigarette before putting it out on the ashtray. He took a few large gulps of his whiskey and set it down on the table. There was another light knock on the door.

He walked over to it and opened it. Sara stood in the doorway, wearing a bathrobe. Her hair was wet.

"What is it?" he said, looking around. Her eyes were glazed and she giggled. Obviously, she was still drunk. "Sara, please go back to your room. We have a long day tomorrow."

"I see how you look at me." She said. "How you fight hard to keep your hands off me."

"What?" Sesshomaru took a step back and shook his head. "Sara…you're highly-"

Sara untied her robe and it dropped to the floor, revealing her naked body. Sesshomaru kept his hand up to keep her away and looked at her face.

"Sara, I am only going to say this once so you do not humiliate yourself any further. You're drunk so listen carefully. Put your robe back on, now!"

Sara smiled at first, thinking he was role playing but his face was serious and she quickly grabbed it from the floor.

"You know that I am a married man?"

"Yes, but not—"

"I am a married man and I am your boss. That's it."

"But you're getting a divorce?"

"No, I am not!" he spat. Why was everyone telling him that? "Whatever is happening between my wife and I is of our concern. I don't care what you hear or what you thought you saw but there is nothing between us."

"But you stroked my hair, you looked at me with these eyes that showed…"

"I was very drunk and I thought you were my wife, that's it! And I apologize for that. It was my mistake to let that happen. If you cannot understand that then I will pay you severance and book you on a flight tonight back to NY but I cannot tolerate this behavior from you. Is that understood?"

Sara felt her face hot as she held back her tears. She felt so embarrassed that she pondered throwing herself out the window right now. Instead, she bowed her head and nodded.

"I am very sorry, sir. I am a little drunk and I'm not thinking clearly. Please don't fire me. I really do need this job and I won't misunderstand next time."

Sesshomaru contemplated for a moment if he should let her go but his actions weren't innocent either. As someone's employer, he put himself in this situation by getting drunk and confusing her with his actions. Then there was another part of him that wanted to let her go because it was the right thing to do. For now, he couldn't make that decision. It would have to wait until he was sober and clear headed. He had to worry about the case. This situation with her was trivial in comparison.

"We will discuss it later. Please retire to your room at once."

"Yes, sir. Once again, I'm so sorry." She said and turned away. He quickly closed the door and rubbed his face.

Jesus Christ, when will it end? The drama. Could he really not have a secretary fall for him? He would beg Lana to come back and work for him. He'd pay her triple and would buy her a condo if that was what it took to have her back. Or he could hire a man. That was also a possibility. But there weren't many male candidates applying for secretarial positions.

He walked over to his desk, poured himself another glass of whiskey and finished it in one gulp. He threw himself on the bed and stared into the ceiling. He couldn't think about Sara right now. All he could think about was this case and getting Kagome back.

He reached for the side of the bed where Kagome would lay when she was last here with him. Every time they came to Rome, they stayed in this exact room. He allowed the whiskey to soothe him and warp his thoughts. The first time he and Kagome made love was in this bed. This is where they spent their honeymoon and they also celebrated their tenth anniversary. He looked toward the balcony where Kagome constantly sat at.

"Oh, no, don't you even think about looking at your phone right now." He had replayed a memory in his mind. "You give me your phone right now and maybe, if you're good, I'll give it back." She teased him as she waved his phone at him and hid it behind her back. "Come and get it…"

His memory was interrupted by the thought of his daughters. Kimora and Samara's birthday was coming up in two weeks. He had to be there. He's already missed so much of their lives. He sighed and tried to let sleep come to him but then he started to think about this guy Sasuke. He was now coming into his home, what was his intention? Did he plan on taking his family? Did he really try to interfere in his life? Kagome was starting to be around this man more. It seemed that fate kept bringing them together. Was it irony that he came back to NY and they ran into each other and that his son goes to the same school as his kids? This meant Kagome would see a lot of him. What if she falls in love with him again?

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Author's note:

Yeah, I know, it's been years…I don't know what to tell you. I hated that I left this story unfinished so I came back to finish it. I don't know when it will be finished but like I've told many of you. I will get it done eventually, even if it takes me…years. Ok, I promise. I won't let a year pass by for another update. I really missed writing fan fiction….

Miss hearing from you guys. Find me on Facebook!

Laters,

Yanaristocrat aka Diana Elizabeth. 3


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